Aracnor Part 5: Civil War
by ViewtifulDarnell
Summary: Aracnor and Bruiser VS The X-Men. Young Avengers VS Young Avengers Whoever said the Civil War was over was sorely mistaken.
1. Superhuman Registration Act

After Reshef depowered the mutants that day was called "M-Day". Only a handul of us remained. Emma estimated somewhere between 300 and 700. Miu was one of them. Stark Industries signed a contract to build new human operated Sentinels that would stand guard at the X-Mansion where most of the remaining mutants were going to live. The government was starting to keep better tabs on us now that our numbers were thinner. "For your own protection", or at least that's what they said. Honestly I didn't really buy any of it. If anything it made me want to move out of the mansion, but I didn't have anywhere to go so I stayed. I felt like I was checking in and out of a hotel or something every time I left the mansion. It wasn't home for me anymore. The only thing I was actually okay with was the fact that I got to change rooms so I was roommates with Wolverine now.

"How many mutants are left?" Miu asked me as we walked through Central Park two weeks later.

"Only a few hundred. Reshef did a real number. He depowered so many of us at once..." I looked down.

"It's not your fault Jason," Miu told me. We stopped walking, she faced me and made me look in her eyes. "You had no way of knowing that he would use your DNA to do it and even if you did he would have found another mutant. It could have happened to anymore, even me. Don't beat yourself up about this."

"I'll try not to," I smiled at Miu. "I'm just worried about ending up as an extinct species or something."

"You're paranoid. This is probably the worst of it,"Miu assured me.

Maybe she was right. Even if some nuts went after the remaining mutants we could still fight back. I needed to relax and stop worry about possibilities and focus on reality. "You are so hot when you're right," I smiled at Miu and wrapped my arms around her waist.

"So I'm hot all the time?" Miu wrapped hers around my neck.

"No. You're beautiful all the time. You're hot I'd say about... 85 percent of the time," I joked.

"Only 85?" Miu tossed her hair back at smiled at me before hugging me and whispering, "You're pretty hot yourself when you're in that tight Scarlet Spider costume."

I kissed Miu, "So... what do you wanna do now?"

"Umm... idunno. You wanna see a movie?" Miu asked as we started walking out of the park.

"Yeah, I guess. Unless you wanna...you know, pick up where we left off two weeks ago," I suggested. Miu and I haven't talked about it at all. We kind of just left it floating around.

"I love the idea... but my parents are home now, and it'd probably be a bad idea if we did," Miu explained.

"Okay, movie then," I said with what must have been a slightly disapointed tone though I didn't realize it.

"Jason," Miu said firmly.

"What?" I asked.

"My boobs aren't going anywhere, trust me. It can wait until tommorrow, or maybe longer," Miu said flirtaciously. "Unless your body's got other plans."

"Nope, no other plans. A movie with you's perfect. Anything with you makes me happy," I wrapped my arm around Miu's shoulder. "So... Star Trek?"

"Sure."

After the movie I walked Miu back home. "I didn't think I was going to like it that much," Miu admitted to me.

"Oh, I went through a Star Trek phase when I was in like... 4th grade and figured I'd probably like it. That guy who played Spock was pretty good," I replied.

"Ahh, never thought of you as a Star Trek dork," Miu giggled.

"I resent that," I chuckled. "So tommorrow... I'll see you when I'm done with work?"

"Yep. What time's that?" Miu asked.

"6," I replied.

"Then I'll be at the gym until then," Miu told me.

"What do you need to go to the gym for? You already look amazing," I pointed out.

Miu blushed, "Yeah... but I need to get in shape for soccer soon and unlike some people I can't just go jumping off rooftops and fighting bad guys to do it."

"Speaking of which, I have to do that once I drop you off."

"Be careful," she instructed me as we walked up the steps to her door.

"Anything you say," I kissed her softly on the lips.

"Call me tonight," Miu said softly staring into my eyes. Finally she broke the stare and went inside. "Bye."

"See ya," I smiled at her as she closed the door.

Soon I found myself in costume and swinging through the city. Hopefully I wasn't going to bump into a supervillain tonight. My head wasn't really into it tonight. I was thinking about Miu. I knew I shouldn't have while I was on patrol but for some reason I couldn't help it tonight. Plus it was quiet. Again. It's always quiet before something happens. Something involving a supervillain that is. Or at least the ones the Young Avengers and I fight. Some of those guys were so low on the D-List that no one had the slightest idea who they were. Maybe that's an exaggeration, Hawkeye's the one who said it. If you asked me we're fighting C-Listers and an occasional low B-Lister.

Finally my spider-sense went off and I had something to do. I saw a man getting car jacked at gun point. I dropped to the street and punched him in the face. "That black ski mask you're wearing isn't really working out for you. Plus it's a little hot to be wearing those now. I hear orange's really in this season where you're going though. At least that's what my girlfriend's Cosmo says," I joked as the criminal attempted to find his gun on the ground. He did. I kicked him in the wrist, disarming him, before he had a chance to get up.

"I'm not going back to jail webhead!" the man yelled at me.

"Would you prefer the term 'correctional facility'?" I asked.

"ARGG!!!" he pulled a knife on me and went to stab me in one swift motion.

"Crap!" I thought as I tried avoiding the attack. I wasn't able to avoid it completely. I managed to not get stabbed directly in the chest but he sliced me in the side of my arm a bit. A jolt of pain hit me instantly. I ignored it long enough to punch the guy hard in the stomach and pull the knife from his hand. I then webbed him up and hung him from a nearby streetlight before swinging off. I didn't go far though, I wanted to check out the cut I'd gotten. It wasn't too bad. I was only worried about dripping blood all over the city. Then I noticed something, maybe my eyes were playing a trick on me but the cut looked to be getting slightly smaller. Slightly. Reshef did say something about me having some sort of healing ability now. Guess this is it. I stood there for a bit over a minute watching the cut heal completely.

I started swinging again hoping to avoid a more serious injury this time. I heard an alarm and saw that a liquor store was being robbed. I swung in, "Excuse me but I'm gonna have to see some I.D. young-" I stopped when I saw the perpetrator of the crime. He was wearing a helmet that looked like a bucket and had an obnoxiously bright red cape and yellow costume. He looked ridiculous. "Is that a bucket on your head?" I fought back a laugh.

"It's a helmet!" the criminal scremed with fury.

"Right... so Buckethead, do you have some sort of superpower? Like..." I was out of ideas. His helmet was really distracting.

"Like the ability to take a punk kid like you," he charged at me. I sidestepped him.

"Hold on. Don't let me beat you yet, there's definately a McLovin joke in here somewhere. Just let me get that in first," I mocked Buckethead.

"Kid, do yourself a favor and shut up," Buckethead demanded. He picked up a mop from against the floor.

"Gonna clean the floor?" I joked. I honestly couldn't take him seriously at all. Granted I was mentally prepared for this guy to blast me with a superpower of some sort any second now.

He didn't answer me, he just charged me attempting to swing the mop at me. I ducked out of the way but he followed up with another swing. He actually knew what he was doing with the thing. Too bad he didn't seem to have any real superpowers. I spotted an opening while dodging his swings and took, uppercutting him in the jaw. He went flying halfway across the room before crashing onto the floor getting knocked out in the process. Guess his helmet wasn't very protective. "So did Buckethead steal anything from you guys?" I asked the cashier.

He shook his head.

"Okay, I'll take him and leave him somewhere nice for the police,"I told the cashier before picking up the knocked out criminal and walking outside where I saw a police car driving by. I signaled them over and gave them the knocked out "villain".

*3:30am...* "He wore a bucket on his head?" Miu asked laughing.

"Yep," I yawned. Miu and I had been talking for the past two hours.

"You sound tired," she tried to fight a yawn of her own.

"It's been a long day," I replied. "Plus it's 3:30 in the morning."

"Yeah..." Miu replied softly. She was definately falling asleep.

"I think it's time for the both of us to go to bed," I suggested.

"Good idea..." Miu said, her voice starting to trail off. "I miss you."

"I miss you too," I told her. "Night."

"Night."

The next day work was extraordinarily boring. No one came in all day. I spent most of my time reading comics from the shelves just to keep busy. The superheroes were pretty corny, they're probably inspiring my lame lines lately.  
As I was punching out at the end of my shift the door opened. Miu walked in. "Hey," she smiled at me. "Your shift over yet?"

"As of right now," I told her. "Perfect timing."

"Yeah, I stayed at the gym a little longer than I planned to and figured since it was on the way home I'd just meet you here," Miu told me.

"That explains the smell, I thought it was some really bad perfume or something," I teased Miu.

"Hey!" she slapped my arm.

I kissed her forehead, "You're still beautiful though."

When we got in her house it was quiet. No one home. "I'm gonna take a shower," Miu told me. "Sit tight down here."

"If you say so," I replied. I sat down on her coach and started flipping through channels on her tv. Old sitcoms. Boring movies. Cartoons. Nothing interesting. Then I got to the news. I saw the remains of a school that was blown up. Apparently the New Warriors were fighting Nitro and he blew up the school nearby. I couldn't believe it. Since when was Nitro so powerful? And why did the New Warriors fight someone with powers like that if he was anywhere near a school. I couldn't comprehend it. The news reporter started talking about how Congress was pushing for a Superhuman Registration Act. I couldn't believe what was happening.

"Jaaaay-sooooon," Miu sung as she came down the stairs. I didn't notice. "Jason?" she saw the news and sat down next to me. "God... what happened?"

"The New Warriors were fighting Nitro, he blew up a school in Stamford. And now they're trying to pass a Superhero Registration Act," I explained.

Miu didn't reply.

"If they force superheroes to register, then what's gonna stop them from forcing mutants to register?" I asked. "We have secret identities for a reason. If everyone knows who we are, if our enemies know who we are... If someone hurt you..." I didn't want to think about any of this.

"Maybe it won't get passed," Miu said optimistclly.

"Doubt it. After all this, everything the Hulk's ever done, and the fact that Wolverine told me he once threatened to kill the president; there's no way they're going to stop it from passing."

"What if you don't register?"

"Try to arrest us I guess..." I looked at the floor.

The next week went by too fast. A bunch of the superheroes in the area met at the Baxter Building one day to discuss the Act. Most of them had helped with the clean up at Stamford, I wish I had. I was surprised to hear that there were those of us who supported the Act: Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, and Yellowjacket to name a few. Cyclops said the X-Men shouldn't be forced to register because of this. They didn't choose to be mutants. Every superhero chose to be who they were. Hopefully that excuse could save us from a mutant registration act, for now at least. Captain America was completely against it. What could we do though? Cap knew. We could go underground, and fight crimes secretly then get out fast before the cops show up. It seemed like a good idea. The other Young Avengers agreed. That's what we would do. Leave home and find somewhere new to stay, then fight crime fast and get out.

*At the X-Mansion...* "You're leaving?" Emma asked.  
"Sorta... I know Emma. I'm sorry but I'm not registering," I explained.  
"The mutants aren't going to involve themselves in can stay," Emma tried to persuade me.  
"But the Young Avengers are gonna get involved. Plus I'd owe it to my grandpa to do this, Captain America's going underground too. Something bad's gonna happen, and I'm not gonna sit by and let it happen. And you never know, they could easily go after mutants next. I'm not standing by and letting any of this happening without putting up some sort of fight," I told Emma before turning my back and leaving the mansion.

*Midnight* The Registration Act became a law. I was officially a criminal, officially wanted, and officially busted for breaking up a bank robbery with the Young Avengers. We had split up, I had no idea if any of them were caught yet. Just that I had a few helicopters chasing me across rooftops. They were shooting at me with rubber bullets but I dodged most of them with my spider-sense.  
I was just hoping there was somewhere I could hide. There were no more rooftops for me to jump to so I simply jumped off the building and into the streets. Big mistake. They had people on the ground waiting for me. They circled me all pointing their guns at me, with the helicopter right above me. They placed some sort of weird cuffs on my hands that basicly zapped my powers while I wore them. They led me to an armored truck where they were placing the other Young Avengers.  
I may not have been able to use my spider-sense but I had a weird feeling about two of the guys. They looked familiar. While we were being driven to wherever, I really had no idea where they would take us but, we'd have probrably ended up at the S.H.I.E.L.D. hellicarrier; Out of nowhere one of the guards who I thought looked familar knocked out the guard next to him and ripped Wiccan's mouth guard off.  
"Wiccan, you need to use one of your teleportation spells. Now!" I immediately reconized the voice as Falcon.  
"Uhh, right. Iwantobesomewhereelse... Iwanttobesomewhereelse... Iwanttobesomwhereelse... Iwanttobesomwhereelse... Iwanttobesomewhereelse..." Wiccan chanted right before we teleported. Meanwhile Falcon had thrown the other guard out of the truck.  
"Where are we?" I asked as we stepped out of the truck.  
"Your new home, welcome to the resistance," Captain America who had been driving while in disguise answered.  
"Right. Resistance. Shoulda came here first," Speed muttered.  
"So who's with us?" Hawkeye asked.  
"You guys, Daredevil, Cage, Goliath, Hercules. Not too many people yet," Falcon answered.  
"Well let's hope that changes soon," Cap said. "If too few of us register then they'll see none of the superheroes want their lives to become open books. They'll scrap it. We just need to wait it out and late it blow over."


	2. Betrayal and Reconnection

Over the next few days Cap assigned the Young Avengers and I to watch the monitors. Vision could watch every monitor at once easily, Cap probrably just wanted to keep us out of trouble. The most boring part of monitor duty was that it wasn't that exciting. Just a few superheroes registering every other day. I figured I could get away with sneaking out to see Miu for a bit one day.

I saw Miu sitting on a bench waiting for me when I got to Central Park."Jason!" she popped up from the bench and hugged me when she saw me approaching her.

"Miu!" I hugged her back. "I missed you. I love how your hair looks today."

"Aww, thanks. So how's the... thing going?" she asked.

"It's okay. Cap won't let us, the Young Avengers I mean, help with fighting crime. Not yet at least. They fought the Sinister Six the other day," I explained.

"Oh. Well at least you're safe. When I saw you guys on the news getting chased I got so scared," Miu admitted.

"I didn't even know they were filming that... was it live?" I asked. Miu nodded. "Yeah... I thought I was getting captured too. I had no idea Cap and Falcon were gonna do that."

"Well I'm glad they did. I don't think my parents would let me date a guy in jail," Miu teased me.

We walked around the city for a bit. I was glad it wasn't cold anymore. It was finally starting to warm up. I was glad I didn't reveal my identity to too many superheroes. Just the Young Avengers, the rest of the "Secret Avengers"(as Front Line called us), and Spider-Man. I doubted Peter would go and rat me out to anyone so I shouldn't have to worry about Iron Man tackling me right here or anything. Not now at least.

"What's with the crowd?" Miu asked pointing ahead the street. There was a group of people croweded in front of a building looking in at something.

"Not sure... can you hear it?" I replied.

"Hold on..." Miu said. "Yeah... oh my god... who's Peter Parker?"

"What?" I asked.

"Spider-Man unmasked himself on tv just now," Miu told me.

"No way... Peter'd NEVER do that. Never. What the hell did Iron Man do to him?" I was in disbelief. It was almost too much to comprehend. It was like hearing that Green Goblin saved the world or someone turning air into gold or something. It wasn't possible. But somehow it still happened. I looked up to Peter to be honest, kind of like a brother in a way, and he went against one of the biggest things he stood for. He kept his identity a secret to protect his family. "Where did they say they're filming from?"

"I'm not sure... why? What are you gonna do Jason?" Miu asked.

"Knock some sense into him, that's what," I started to storm off down an alley, pulling my mask from my pocket and getting ready to pull of my street clothes.

"Jason! Jason! No!" Miu grabbed my arm. "Think about it. Can you really take on Spider-Man, Iron Man, and S.H.I.E.L.D. and whoever else they have? You'll get arrested. It won't work!"

"But-" I started.

"But nothing!" Miu interrupted. "Think about me."

I took a deep breath and calmed down. I put my mask in my pocket, "You're right. It's just... Iron Man knows that tricking Pete into doing that is gonna get tons of other people to register..."

"Don't worry about that. Look, this whole thing will just blow over in a month or something. Come on... let's go do something else," Miu led me out of the alley. We walked around town, just walking. Everywhere tv we passed was playing the same thing, "My name is Peter Parker and I've been Spider-Man since I was 15 years old."

Finally we found ourselves outside of Miu's house after an hour of wandering. "You wanna come in for a bit?" she asked. "My parents are home... they're watching the news." Miu sure made good use of her powers.

"Yeah, might as well," I replied.

Miu dug her house keys out her purse and opened the door, "Mom, Dad, I'm home. I brought Jason with me, that's okay, right?"

"Yes, it's fine. He isn't staying long, is he?" her dad asked me.

"No, maybe an hour?" Miu asked.

"I suppose so," he answered.

Miu nudged me. "Introduce yourself," she whispered.

"Hi, Mr. Sugimoto, I'm Jason Wheeler. It's a pleasure to meet you," I said trying not to sound nervous. I shook his hand. "Mrs. Sugimoto," I waved in her direction. She waved back.

"Miu told us you go to the Xavier Institute for Higher Learning, how is the education there?" he asked me.

"Oh, it's good. Not really easy or anything but I learned a lot there," I explained.

"Any plans for college yet?" he continued.

"Umm... I haven't really thought about it. I'm probably gonna end up going to a community college unless I can get a full scholarship somewhere," I explained.

"Any careers in mind?" her father continued his bombardment of questions.

I needed to think fast for a real answer with this one. I was starting to look like I was going absolutely nowhere with my life to them, but I couldn't be honest and say I was going to continue my work as a superhero, could I? Then I thought of something, "Photographer. Or News reporter. Something along those lines."

Mr. Sugimoto nodded approvingly.

"Speaking of news... did you guys hear about Spider-Man?" Miu interjected.

"His unmasking? That's all anyone's talked about all day," Mrs. Sugimoto replied. "Just an ordinary guy. The one who took pictures of him for the Daily Bugle."

"They're suing him now," Mr. Sugimoto said. I couldn't help but feel a little happy about that. I was mad at Pete.

"Oh," Miu simply said. Then glanced at me, "Is it okay if me and Jason go up to my room for a bit?"

"Door stays open," he told her.

"Dad we're not gonna do anything," Miu argued.

"Doesn't change anything: door stays open," he replied.

"Fine," Miu submitted and led me up to her room leaving the door open. Miu and I spent the next half hour talking before I decided I should get going.

*The next day...* The Young Avengers and I were on monitor duty. Take a guess what the only thing that was on the news was? Yep, Spider-Man still.

"So am I the only one who hates their Avenger counterpart?" I asked the others while I leaned back on the chair I was sitting in.

"Well not _all_ of us are exactly proud of some of the things our heroes did," Wiccan answered. "I mean, do you really have to hate him for it?"

"Kind of. It's like... it's like if Captain America became a communist or something," I explained.

"But think about it from his side," Stature suggested. "He's been hated publiclly for years and now he has a chance to be looked at as a real hero to everyone just by registering, and publiclly too, a ton of people are going to admire that. It'll probably get more people to register," Stature said.

"Who's side are you on?" Patriot asked.

"Sorry, I'm just pointing out," Stature replied.  
"Guys check this out," Hulkling called us over to a monitor.  
There was a group of kids about our age getting into some sort of frog robot to escape from S.H.I.E.L.D., they must've been unregistered heroes. This was in California so I didn't reconize them. One of the guys had actually clung on to the side of the frog while it escaped and fought off S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. It was pretty impressive. Then they shot something at him that seemed to hurt him, and oddly enough Vision as well who was here with us in New York.  
"Vison? Vision, you okay?" Stature asked.  
"I think so..." he stated. "I'm not sure what happened."  
I continued to watch the screen and they brought up screencaps of the kids. There was an asian girl who looked sort of goth, a blonde haired girl who was glowing, a black guy whose arms were like The Thing's, a dinosaur, a blonde haired guy, the guy who clung onto the side of the frog, and a girl about 12 who had brown hair and brown eyes.  
"No way..." I muttered.  
"Hmm?" Kate asked.  
"That's my cousin," I pointed to the youngest girl. "That's my cousin Molly."  
"You're sure?" Kate asked.  
"Positive. That's her," I assured her.  
"Well it looks like we got two reasons to go help them," Wiccan said.  
"I'll go talk to Cap about it," I told the others.

*Soon...* "Cap, can I ask you about something?" I asked Cap when I found him.  
"What is it?" he asked.  
"We were watching the monitors and in California there were these unregistered heroes, kids my age. We wanted to get your permission to go help them," I explained.  
"That's out of the question," Cap said sternly.  
"Cap, my cousin Molly was with them. And when the cyborg guy got hurt Vision felt it. We need to help them," I tried to get Cap to understand.  
Cap was silent for a moment, "How about this. You and Vision head over there by yourselves since this seems to concern you two."  
"We don't know what S.H.I.E.L.D. has over there Cap. If something happens we should have our whole team," I tried to bargain with Cap.

"That's exactly why I just want to send the two of you over there," Cap starts to explain. "The fewer of you, the less chance of getting noticed. Jason, I believe in you, just like the way I did with your grandfather." My grandfather fought alonngside Cap during part of World War II.

"But I'm not my grandpa, not even close," I replied.

"You'd be surprised. He was a selfless hero, just like you. Putting others' lives ahead of his own. Just look at you, you have no idea who these kids are, other than your cousin, and you're willing to run across the country to help them. Joe did something like that back in the war. Some Nazis had a few of our guys at one of their bases and he single-handedly went against orders and saved them himself," Cap told me.

"Thanks Cap," I replied. I guess Cap was right. I was like my grandpa. If he was able to save his guys then I should be able to save Molly and her friends, right? Cap thinks I can. That's good enough for me. "Two days?"

"Two days. Just you and Vision," Cap affirmed.

"Got it. We won't let you down."

Cap let us borrow one of the jets we had to get to LA. I was only hoping Molly and her friends didn't land themselves in any deep trouble. If they stayed quiet until Vision and I got there then they'd be good.  
"Vison, do you know anything about this guys we're going to save?" I asked while we were somewhere over Ohio.

"Let's see..." Vision said as he started to look up information on them one way or another. I sure was glad to be with Vision on this one, I would've had no idea where to start looking for information but considering Vision practiclly was a computer it was basicly an instinct for him. "Got it. Are you familiar with the crime group, The Pride?"

"Yeah, you aren't telling me they're members, are you?" I asked.

"No. But their parents were. Well most of their parents at least," Vision explained.

"Even my aunt and uncle?" I asked trying to be optimistic. I tried contacting them after my parents died but I didn't get an answer. I wasn't sure what happened.

"Yes."

"Are they dead?"

"Yes."

"Great... well that explains why they didn't call me back... any info on the kids themselves?" I asked changing the topic.

"Your cousin, Molly Hayes, if she's like her parents, is a mutant. Super strength. This girl(the asian girl) is Nico Minoru, a spellcaster. Karolina Dean(blonde girl), a Majesdanian . Xavin(black guy), a Super Skrull of some sort. Chase Stein(blonde haired guy), no actual powers but his parents were scientsts. He uses "Fistigons" they built, to create flames. Victor Mancha(guy who Vision shared pain with), not much on him. Some sort of cyborg who can manipulate electricity and metal. No info on his origins. The dinosaur... nothing on it, other than it's a female." Vision explained.

"Hmm... sounds like a colorful team," I said.

It was around 9PM when we finally got to where they should have been. We got to the entrance of the cave where they were supposed to be and I saw Molly exit.  
"There's Molly... gimme a sec to talk to her," I told Vision as I pulled off my mask. "Molly!"  
"Jason?" Molly asked surprised.  
"Yeah Molly. It's me," I said as I bent over a bit to get eye level with her, "You sure grew up since the last time I saw you. You're 12 now, right?"  
"Mm-hmm," Molly replied. "How'd you find me?"  
"Well after I saw the news my friend and I came to help you guys from being forced to registering. Iron Man's with S.H.I.E.L.D. now and they're trying to get everyone with powers to register. Captain America's leading an underground resistance against the registration. It's in New York. It's safe there," I explained.  
"But we're not superheroes Jason. Why do they want us to register?" Molly asked.  
"Because the registration act is for super humans. Meaning anyone with powers," I answered.

"Even mutants?" she asked.

"Umm... some. Like me. And you, I guess. They'd associate you with your friends to force you into it. But every other mutant that just butts out is safe," I explained.  
"Oh... you should talk to Nico. She'll know what to do about this," Molly said.  
"Molly, we should catch up later," I suggested noticing Molly didn't seem to thrilled to be seeing me anymore.

"Yay! I've got a bazillion things I can tell you!" Molly's mood brightened.

"I've got a thing or two myself," I smiled at her before she led me into a cave or some sort where she was staying with her friends. I motioned Vision to follow.

"Nico, my cousin Jason's here. He brought his friend they gotta talk to us about something," Molly said as she brought us inside.  
"How did you guys-" the asian girl, Nico started.  
"It wasn't that difficult," Vision explained simply. "Using the location of where you were last seen in combination with the size of your vehicle, and the number of you there were, along with locations in the area suitable for you to hide the possible places you could be were very low."  
"Okay. What are you guys here for?" she asked.  
"What's wrong with him?" Vision asked looking at the cyborg who was laying on a table on the other side of the room.  
"Huh?" the blonde haired guy, Chase didn't know who Vision was reffering to.  
Vision pointed to the cyborg.  
"Victor?" the blonde haired girl, Karolina asked.  
"I felt pain when I saw him attacked," Vision explained as he crossed the room to him.  
"There's gotta be some connection between the two," i suggested. "Who made Victor?"  
"Ultron," Karolina answered.  
"Well the original Vision was made by Ultron so it would make sense," I said.  
"Original Vision?" the Skrull, Xavin asked.  
"Yeah. Long story short Vision's CPU downloaded itself into a suit of armor from the 31st century," I continued to explain.

Vision walked over to Victor and started to examine him, "I can fix him, but it will require time."

"How bad it is it?" Chase asked.

"He should live. S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't use lethal rounds," Vision explained.

"Thanks you," Nico told Vision. Then she turned to me, "So... why are you guys here again?"

"Well, Victor was one. Molly was the other, I guess," I started. "I'm her cousin, Jason. I'm from New York where most of this registration crap is being focused. Captain America's leading a bunch of superheroes like myself against it underground. We're hoping to get the Registration Act cancelled out or something."

"We're not superheroes," Nico said.

"But you're superhumans. Just because you guys fought that guy they'll either make you register or arrest you for not unless you leave the country. Honestly, since Molly's my cousin, I'd really appreciate it if you consider coming back to New York with us," I requested.

Nico thought for a moment, "How long do you think we'll be there?"

"Hopeuflly not too long... 2 months maybe?" I predicted.

"Okay... we'll leave in the morning," Nico agreed.

"Great... now I hope you don't mind but I've got some catching up to do with Molly," I told her before I approached Molly.

"Hey there Molly," I sat down next to her.  
"Hey Jason," she replied.  
"So you're a mutant too, what powers do you have?" I asked, knowing the answer but, wanting to make her feel comfortable by asking.  
" I have super strength but after I use my powers I get really sleepy," Molly explained.  
"Oh. I've got the same powers as Spider-Man basicly," I replied.  
"What happened to Uncle Jensen and Aunt Niki?" Molly asked. I forgot she didn't know that my parents were dead too.  
"They're uhh.... they're dead," I struggled to say.  
"Oh..." Molly looked at the ground and was quiet a minute. "Is everyone in our family dead?"  
"No. You still have me. And I still have you. And you have all your friends here who love you," I told Molly as she continued to look down. I picked up her chin and wiped the tears strolling down her cheeks and assured her, "Everything's gonna be okay Molly. I promise, I'm always gonna be here for you. We're a family and we're gonna stick together. No matter what happens."  
I could tell Molly wanted to say something but she couldn't seem to form the words. Instead she hugged me and buried her face in my chest while I held her.

After I had managed to cheer up Molly we started to talk about other, less serious, subjects. She told me about some of the things she did with the Runaways. I think it was understatement for Nico to say they weren't superheroes. They're practiclly the West Coast Young Avengers. Then she told me about the cartoons she likes to watch which somehow led her to tell me that Karolina is a lesbian and dating Xavin. I told her about my adventures with the Young Avengers. Then about the X-Mansion, then Kitty. Then Miu.

Vision and I had been there for about an hour and a half when my spider-sense went off. I looked at the entrance and saw a Kree and a group of new S.H.I.E.L.D. agents("capekillers") barged in. My heart sank. "Crap..." I muttered pulling my mask back on before they took a good look at my face. Granted I wasn't exactly Tony Stark so my face wouldn't be recognized immediately but still. I didn't want to be recognized by anyone working for S.H.I.E.L.D.

No one moved. Not yet. It felt like years, just standing there while the capekillers aimed their guns at us.

"Runaways..." Nico started.

Old Lace started growling.

"Vision..."I looked to him. He was staring at the Kree, analyzing him.

Finally the Kree made his move towards us.


	3. Tensions Rise

The Kree went straight for Xavin while the Capekillers started shooting at us.  
"Does S.H.I.E.L.D. ever go to bed?" I muttered as I shot a webline and yanked the gun out of one of their hands.  
"I don't think so," Chase answered as he punched another in the face.  
"One more thing," I started as I dodged a shot from another, "Isn't the Kree/Skrull War over?"

"Indeed, but some are clearly more resentful than others," Xavin answered punching the Kree as Karolina came to his(her?) aid.

I saw Molly get hit by a tranquilizer and fall to the ground, "MOLLY!" I ran over to her after kicking the guy who did it in the face. She was out cold. Meanwhile Vision had stuck his arm through the Kree, causing him to scream in agony. If only the rest of us were doing as well. I was holding Molly while dodging tranquilizers while Nico, Chae, Old Lace, Karolina, and Xavin were knocked out by them.

Things got worse when the Kree ripped Vision out of him. Literally. Vision's arm de-attached itself from the rest of his body and remained in the Kree's chest. He still looked like he was in pain though. The capekillers took aim at Vision then myself and started firing. Vision phased through them and I ducked past a few but was hit with one. I struggled to stay on my feet but was shot twice more. I hit the ground hard. I was trying not to pass out but it wasn't working. I couldn't move. Then everything went black.

"Jason," Vision's voice woke me up. I jumped to my feet fearing we were in S.H.I.E.L.D. custody. We were still in the cave. "What happened?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. took Xavin... well that's inaccurate. The Kree did actually," Vision explained. I saw the others were still here knocked out on the floor.

"Why didn't they take the rest of us?" I asked.

"I did not allow them. I fought them but the Kree already had Xavin and I was unable to save him and regain my arm," Vision went on.

"Great..." I muttered. "Any good news?"

"I can finish fixing Victor in a matter of minutes. Though I think it may be best to wait until his friends are awake, he may get the wrong impression if we awaken him now," Vision replied.

"Great... does S.H.I.E.L.D. have anything around here?" I asked.

"One underground research facility: The Cube," Vision answered.

"I had no idea they'd do that... using a Kree to track down Xavin. So now we've gotta rescue Xavin and get out of here fast," I re-analyzed the situation.

"It might be best if we bring the Runaways back into their 'Leapfrog' rather than leave them on the ground here," Vision suggested.

"Right," I agreed picking up Molly who was closest to me and bringing her inside of it and laying her in a seat. Vision brought on Chase. I brought Karolina, Vision brought Nico, I brought Old Lace, he brought Victor. About five more minutes passed before Nico woke up. Vision and I caught her up on the situation then woke up Victor who we did the same too. An hour later we'd told the story to all of the other Runaways and needed a new plan of action.

"Well, we need to see exactly what S.H.I.E.L.D. has at the Cube before we do anything," Nico pointed out.

"After that, we get in, get Xavin, and get back to New York. Plain and simple," I put my plan on the table.

"Things are never 'plain and simple', at least around here," Victor said.

"Yeah, really. We got our asses whooped and you're acting like we can take them," Chase seemed irritated by me.

"We were caught off guard. We didn't know they had a Kree. I'll take care of him next time myself if it comes down to it," I stood by what I said.

"Yeah... right. Then again I guess a bad Spider-Man copycat could take on a bad Captain Marvel copycat," Chase said.

"You wanna say that again?" I clenched my fist, wanting to punch him. I was seriously considering it too since Molly wasn't in the room.

"Chill!"Nico yelled. "Both of you! Jason's plan can work. Yeah, if we screw up then it's game over but we'll have the drop on them. That'll help."

We decided that our best bet for getting into the city unnoticed would be if we put the Quinjet on stealth mode and just stake out from the rooftop of the building across from the access point to the Cube. The Quinjet probably wasn't made for 8 teens and a dinosaur so it was kind of cramped.  
"You're sure that's it? It looks small," Chase pointed out.  
"Well obviously. Most of it is underground. That's the problem,we aren't going to be know how big it is or where the others are or how many SHIELD agents there are until we get in there," I explained.  
"Some leader..." I heard Chase mutter.

I wanted to say something but before I could Molly did,"Chase! Jason's doing his best. He can't help it if he doesn't know some things."  
Chase opened his mouth to say something but decided not to.  
"Well we know that there's just a bunch of SHIELD guys in there and that Kree that took Xavin. He's gonna pay for taking her away from me," Karolina said.  
"Wonder if they still have tranquilizers," Nico wondered.  
"If they do it will not matter. They are not expecting us. We will have a matter of minutes before they manage to prepare their tranquilizer gns. If we work quickly enough we will be able to get out before they have a chance to use them," Vision stated after staring at where his missing arm belonged.  
"Meaning we hit them hard and fast," Molly commented.  
"Well how are we even getting in?" Chase asked sitting on the ledge of the roof.  
"With this of course," Nico said as her Staff of One came out her(she had been bitting on her finger so it would finally bleed and allow the staff to emerge from her).

Moments later we had been tunneled into the Cube by some sort of monster.  
" ' Prodigium Effodio ' - What does that mean again?" Nico asked.  
"Excavating monster. It's Latin," Vision answered.  
"Damn. How much time did you spend in the library?" someone asked.  
"I am a library," Vision stated.  
"Small talk later, rescuing now!" I ordered.  
We had planned to have the others fight off SHIELD and the Kree while Karolina and I would go and save Xavin. Vision managed to hack their system long enough to locate where the holding cell was so I headed that way. I jumped over a group of agents heading towards me and landed on top of one of them, I kicked off and started running down the hallway, Karolina flying behind me. We made a left and then a right while shooting webs back to block the path of anyone who wanted to follow us. I finally got to the door where the cell was and luckily we were alone. I peered through a small window and saw that there was some sort of scientist cutting around Xavin.

"Xavin!," Karolina screamed blowing our cover. I kicked the door in before the scientist had a chance to lock it down.

He didn't know what hit him, I'd punched him square in the jaw as he turned to face us. Karolina and woke up Xavin and headed out of the lab.

"Vision," I called him over my headset. "Is there another way out? We have Xavin."

"There is, head right from where you are. Make another right and then a left and you'll exit on an opposite end of the facility. We'll bring the Quinjet around over there," Vision explained.

"Got it. See you in a bit," I replied. "Come on." I led Karolina and Xavin to the other exit as S.H.I.E.L.D. followed us breathing down the back of our necks, guess they broke through my webs. When we got to the exit the Quinjet was outside of it and we jumped in. After picking up the Leapfrog we sped off back to New York. Things went according to plan, what a surprise.

When we finally got back to New York we were all(excluding Vision) completely exhausted. I wanted to go to sleep more than anything but Vision and I still had to report back to Captain America. I hadn't slept since the night before Cap sent us to LA. Hopefully he wouldn't keep us for long.

"We're back," I announced to Cap.

"Any problems while you were there?" he asked.

"Kind of. We ran into S.H.I.E.L.D. and a Kree but we all left in one piece," I explained.

"Any injuries?" he went on.

"My arm was de-attached during our first encounter with the Kree but I regained it later on. The Skrull, Xavin, was experimented on but no injuries were sustained," Vision explained. "Other than that, everyone is fine."

"Good job," Cap approved of our mission.

As soon as I laid down on my bed I fell asleep. Part of me thought about calling Miu before I got into bed but I figured it could wait. I would have spent half of the conversation yawning until I finally fell asleep anyway. By the time I woke up it was 8PM. What time did I go to bed? Let's see... we got to LA at 9, got attacked by S.H.I.E.L.D. at 12, pulled off our rescue at the Cube at 3 and got back at 6AM. Talk about jet lag. I honestly had not been paying attention to time. To think I was going to call Miu at 6 in the morning.

I looked for my phone and dialed Miu's number. She picked up on the third ring, "Hey Jason. Haven't heard from you in a while, I was a little worried."

"Sorry about that, I was in California," I explained.

"And you didn't bring me?" Miu asked jokingly. "What for?"

"Well there were a few kids over thee with powers that got in a fight with S.H.I.E.L.D. and it turned out that one wsa my cousin and another was Vision's... brother, I guess. They were made by the same guy so I guess that'd make them brothers," I explained.

"You never told me you had a cousin," Miu pointed out.

"Didn't know what happened to her. After my parents died I called her parents but they didn't answer. Turns out they were killed too, except they were supervillains. My cousin Molly was with her friends since then," I explained.

"Oh..." Miu said. "Did you hear the news yesterday?"

"No, what happened?" I asked.

"They started an Avengers Initiative to train new heroes who register," Miu explained.

I sighed, "Terrific..."

"Sorry for bringing it up," Miu apologized.

"It's okay, it's not your fault. I'm just..." I wanted to say scared that I was going to have to register but I didn't. Instead, "I... just don't wanna think about this right now..."

"Oh... you wanna do something?" she asked.

"Yeah, I guess so," I agreed. "Did you have anything in mind?"

"Wanna get some ice cream?" she suggested.

"Give me like... 5 minutes. I needa change out of my costume and find my fake ID," I told her.

"Fake ID?" Miu inquired.

"Cap had us get them... it's not really a big deal yet, especially for me. I'm kind of low on the 'Most-Wanted' list. It's just a precaution," I explained.

"Okay... see you in a bit," Miu said before hanging up.

"What's the weather like in LA?" Miu asked after swallowing a spoonful of ice cream.

"Not bad... I mean it was night... pretty cool out I guess," I answered realizing I didn't really get to see or do anything while I was in LA. I was in my costume the whole time.

"You're taking me there one day," Miu told me as she continued to pick at her sundae.  
"Oh really?" I asked.

"Yes, really," Miu smiled taking another spoonful of ice cream. "Then we're going to Tokyo."

"You've got it all planned out, don't you?" I noticed she had some ice cream on her lip. "And you missed your mouth a little bit." I kissed her lips cleaning up the excess ice cream.

"Jason..." Miu said softly blushing.

"What?" I asked smiling at her.

Miu just smiled and went back to her ice cream. I thought about saying something but decided not to and returned to my own ice cream.

The next week was frustrating. Nothing positive happened for our side. The only things that were happening were a few superheroes deciding to register. I couldn't really talk to Miu much, she had finals to study for. This cut our conversations down to the occasional text where she'd ask me about something school related. She was the only thing that ever kept my mind off of the Registration Act.  
"This sucks!" I groaned as I entered the main room after waking up one day.  
"Could be worse," Goliath said.  
"Not by much," I replied. "I need to swing and jump around or something."  
"That's probrably why Cap won't let you go out and fight supervillains. You'd draw attention to yourself and get caught. And you never know Iron Man, he might just have you lead someone back here to capture the rest of us," Goliath explained.  
I wanted to argue back but I didn't have anything I could say. I walked off to the monitor room after a long pause. Nico was in there staring at the screens looking just as bored as I was.  
"Anything good?" I asked.  
"Some guy stuffed a golf ball up his nose for a world record," Nico replied.  
"Good enough for me," I said as I pulled up a seat next to Nico.  
"What are you gonna do after the Registration crap's done with?" Nico asked.  
"Uhh... not sure. I guess I'll just keep fighting crime with the Young Avengers, catch up with my school work, hang out with my girlfriend more."  
"You really think we'll be able to live our lives normal again so easily?" Nico asked.  
"No. I've got a bad feeling. I don't think things will ever be truely normal again," I answered with a sigh.  
"I wish I could be optimistic but I've got the same feeling," Nico looked down. "If we're not ready for this then Molly definately isn't."  
"Look... it's only a matter of time before something happens. If things get bad I want all of you guys to go to Canada and stay on the down low for a while. Molly's a kid, and she should stay a kid as long as she can. When my parents died I didn't have anyone else so I had to grow up and learn to take care of myself. I wish I could've stayed a kid a bit longer but I couldn't, I don't want Molly to be forced to grow up fast like I was," I told Nico.  
Nico nodded, "Well there is a reason we're called the Runaways." I smiled at Nico's joke. It made me feel a bit better about the situation.

*That evening...* "Red alert! The Petrochemical Plant by the Hudson is on fire! There's about 400 people trapped inside. Meet Cloak and Dagger to teleport there ASAP!" Cap ordered over the radio frequency we'd been using.  
Moments later every last rebel on our side were at the burning plant. "Weird...the radio said 400 people?" Cable asked.  
"Yes," Cap replied.  
"I'm not picking up anything on my Info-Net connection as far as paniced civillains go," Cable started as he looked down. "It's a trap!" He saw the sign from the company said 'A Division of Stark Industries' at the bottom. We were set up.  
My spider-sense blurted as Cloak, Sister Grimm(Nico) and Wiccan were shot with tranquilizers. Our teleporters were out and the registered heroes were in. Hulkling ran to Wiccan's aid.  
"Of course it's a trap. Otherwise we weren't going to get you all into one place," Iron Man said in his mechanic voice.


	4. War Erupts

"We didn't come here to arrest you Cap. I talked SHIELD into offering you one more chance to register," Iron Man explained.  
"You want us to surrender? I'll take my chances," Cap replied cooly.  
"Come on Cap. It isn't like it helps anyone but the bad guys if we fight each other. This goes against everything you believe in," Spider-Man said.  
"You're one to talk," I sneered. "How's Mary Jane feel about Sandman knowing your address?"  
"Cap we're not living in the 40s, the public doesn't want us to hide who we really are. They want to feel safe about us and this is the only way it's going to happen. You know me Steve, you know I'd only do this if I truely believed in it. We don't need to fight. Just let me tell you our plans," Iron Man explained raising his mask so we all could see his face.  
Cap didn't buy it. I knew. The only reason I knew was because he was going to shake Iron Man's hand, Cap thought ahead and stuck an electron scrambler on his hand ahead of time. "5 minutes," he replied before shaking. Then just as expected Iron man's armor started malfunctioning and Cap punched him. Goliath grew larger. And the fight was on.  
My Spider-Man sense went off and I ducked as Spider-Man threw something at me. "Spidey you really think you can pull that on me?" I asked as I shot a webline at him, he dodged it.  
"Nope. But I expect this will," Spider-Man replied as he jumped and disappeared.  
"...Cap?" I asked.  
"That suit's made by Iron Man, it's got a stealth mode in it," he explained.  
My spider-sense went off, "Cap duck!" Spidey nearly hit him. Iron Man was back online and flew fast and took Cap with him. "So you sold yourself out for a fancy costume, Pete?" I asked Spider-Man as I shot a webline at him but he dodged it.

"I'm a sellout for making the right decision?" he asked as he punched me in the face.

"The right decision? The right decision for who? Venom? Sandman? Kingpin?" I punched him back. "You painted a giant target on yourself. You're the one who always talked about how keeping your identity a secret was so important!"

"And I realized that it doesn't have to be that way," he attacked me with his mechanical spider legs but I jumped out of the way.

"Yeah, right. How'd Stark brainwash you?" I asked as I tried to kick him several times but he dodged each one.

"You're too young to understand any of this yet Jason. Once you have a family of your own maybe you'll understand," Spidey shot a webline at me, I sidestepped it.

"You're 7 years older than me, it doesn't make a difference," I grabbed a hold of two of his mechanical legs and threw him at Human Torch.

"And that's exactly why you don't stand a chance against me!" Spider-Man declared as he cloaked himself again. He knew turning invisible wasn't going to work on its own. What was his plan? My spider-sense went off again, I ducked but was then met with a kick to the jaw from Spider-Man's invisible foot. He anticipated my move. I closed my eyes and focused my spider-sense to look for Spidey. Where would he attack me from next?

I jumped up as Spidey attempted to tackle me then shot a webline at him and yanked him towards me, kicking his head in the process. "That invisibility trick isn't gonna work on me twice," I told Spidey as he uncloaked himself.

"Guess I underestimated you," he replied as he tried to punch me in the face. I ducked and countered with a punch of my own, he jumped behind me.

I turned and met Spider-Man's punch with a punch of my own. We both hit each other in the face. I kicked my leg out as I fell back in an attempt to kick him in the jaw but missed. Spider-Man shot a load of webbing at me. I backflipped to avoid to getting hit by the webbing and my spider-sense went off again. Thing is this time it wasn't from Spider-Man. He sensed it too. Lightning crashed to the ground and sent everyone flying. I landed hard on the ground next to Dagger and Hulkling.

"What the hell was that?" Hulkling groaned.  
We all looked at where it struck and my heart sunk as I saw the God of Thunder standing there, hammer raised. Thor was here and he looked pissed. I wouldn't have worried as much if Mr Fantastic and Yellowjacket weren't so calm. They must have had something to do with Thor's return, meaning the other rebels and I were in trouble.  
"Thor what are you doing? It's me man, Falcon," Falcon tried to calm down Thor.  
"Where were you? Everyone thought you were dead," Dagger said.  
"No Dagger, that will be you," Thor stated before throwing his hammer and knocking down Dagger, Falcon, Daredevil and myself.  
"We've gotta get out of here. This is wrong, really wrong," Dagger started to panic.  
"You aren't going anywhere," Thor slammed his hammer on the ground and shot lightning bolts at us.  
We were all on the ground in pain, we were no match for Thor. Hercules was helping Cap out so we couldn't get any help from him. "That's enough Thor. SHIELD's clean up squad can handle it from here," Mr Fantastic told Thor.  
"Somebody switched it off," Hawkeye said.  
"Then let's get back into action," I replied.  
I turned my attention to Mr Fantastic and started to fight him until I heard it. It was an undescribable sound and when I turned to look I saw the unimaginable. Goliath was shot through the chest by Thor.  
"Oh God... No!" I stared wide-eyed.  
"Thor killed Goliath," Dagger muttered.  
"Fall back! We're getting out of here!" Falcon ordered as he flew by holding Cap who was knocked out.  
"No!" I yelled as I lept towards Goliath, except I didn't leap, before I got off the ground Xavin grabbed me and pulled me back to the group. "Thor you bastard!" I struggled to get out of the grip of my friend. Cage punched me in the face and I stopped struggling, partly because I was nearly out cold and partly because Thor shot a lightning bolt at us. We were dead... at least I thought we were. Invisible Woman created a force field around us. She saved us.  
"Get out of here," she told us.  
"We can't leave the others..." Patriot said reffering to Nico, Goliath and Wiccan.  
"We have to..." Cable told him. "Get close, we only get one chance. Cable managed to active Cloak's teleporting powers and get us back to the base.

*Later...* While I was bandaging my bruised ribs(I was trying to figure who to send the "Thank You" card to: Thor or Spider-Man?) Speed ran into the room, "Jason!Cassiesaysshe'sthinkingaboutregistering!WeneedtotalkheroutofitASAP!"

"What? Tommy, slow down. Your words are all coming out at once," I told him.

"Cassie. She's registering," he told me after taking a deep breath. I finished bandaging my ribs hastily and followed Tommy to where Eli, Kate, and Teddy were already talking to Cassie.

"Guys I'm sorry. I don't want to betray you but... it just seems like the right thing to do, you know?" Cassie tried to explain.

"No, we don't know," Eli said coldly.

"They freakin' kidnapped Billy! How in the world would joining them seem like the right thing to do?" Teddy asked furiously.

"It's only because we're not registering that we're getting captured. You're acting like they're the bad guys here. They're not," Cassie continued to defend the registration.

"I can't believe I'm hearing this," I said. "Thor KILLED Goliath! Last I checked the bad guys kill."

Cassie just looked down.

"Just go register. If that's what you wanna do then do it. We're not stopping you," Eli told her.

Cassie started to leave the room and stopped at the doorway looking back at wanted to say so much but there was no easy way to let it all out so she turned and continued out.

"Cassie, wait!" Kate chased after her.

"I can't believe she'd join them after what they did to Billy,"Teddy clenched his fists.

"Well half the people who registered are like family to her one way or another. Like Pym and Wasp," I pointed out. "I don't like it any more than you guys but that's probably why..."

"I can't believe she'd betray us like that," Eli punched the wall.

"This is getting really bad..." Tommy sat down.

Stature, Nighthawk, and Cable left to go register within the next hour. After Cap told us to pack up. We were going to move to a new safehouse. We were at war now. And we got our asses handed to us in the first battle. Then again we were ambushed. Either way our numbers went down and theirs were only going to increase since they started their Initiative. Even if theyt were only training C and D list heroes if Iron Man's side got 100 of them we'd start dropping like flies. I hoped that Cap had a plan. He probably wouldn't be involved in any fights anytime soon though. Iron Man did a number on him.

The next day Human Torch and Invisible Woman joined us. They didn't like that Mr. Fantastic, Iron Man, and Pym cloned Thor. Cap didn't believe it was the real Thor to begin with. Something clearly went wrong with the cloning process because the real Thor wouldn't have killed Goliath. I still couldn't believe it. He just killed him in cold blood. Then he tried killing all of us. How could any of the other heroes still believe in the Registration Act if it led to this. Thank god Invisible Woman saved us.

Molly had spoke since we got back and I was getting worried about her. This was no place for her. If Nico didn't get captured they probably would have left to Canada right away but after this they're just as long and confused as any of us. They can't just leave without Nico but can they afford to stick around? I needed to try talking to them about it. I met with Chase, Victor, Xavin, and Karolina outside of the Leapfrog.

"Guys I think you should go," I started.

"Go? Go where?" Karolina asked. She knew what I meant. She just wanted clearity.

"Canada. Hiding. Somewhere else. Somewhere safe. Look what happened. All of could've been killed by that... that thing!" I elaborated.

"We can't leave Nico behind," Victor pointed out.

"Look. I'll get her out of there even if I have to go into the Negative Zone myself and yank her out. Just leave now. For Molly's sake. She's already traumatized enough. Things aren't getting better any time soon," I explained.

"Yeah, but we're not traumatized. Maybe we wanna fight still," Chase stated.

"Are you kidding me? Molly's just a kid! Think about her! She's not ready for this, she should be as far away from this as possible!" I couldn't believe I was having this argument with them.

"And you think just because you're related to her that you know what's best for her?" Chase shot back.

"Well I'm not stupid. You really think she's ready for this? You're not even ready for this! I'm not even ready for this! There's no way my 13 year old cousin is the least bit ready for this!" I honestly wanted to punch Chase in the face but I held back from doing that.

"STOP!" Molly screamed. She came out of the Leapfrog. "Jason's just looking out for me! He cares about me. I know you guys love me as much as he does and you guys don't like him but he's just trying to help. It's not his fault that he wasn't there when you guys were so don't blame him for that. And Jason I wanna fight. I'm scared and I know I'm not ready but that Thor was a bad guy and we're the good guys so we have to kick his butt and save Nico."

"Molly..." I looked at her. Her heart was in the right place. As much as I didn't like the idea I realized there was no changing their mind. "Okay, but I'm training you Mol."

"Okay, so it's settled then. We stay. We kick butt. We run. Great," Karolina clearified.

It's been a week since the last time I saw Miu and nearly a week since Goliath's death. We started texting more than we talked on the phone because the few conversations we had on the phone were awkward. We both wanted a normal relationship but was that still possible now that I'm on the opposing side of a war. We figured we might as well try and decided to have dinner together and forget about the war.

"WOW! Miu you look... WOW! You're pefect!" I hugged her lifting her off the ground as she closed the front door behind her. She was wearing a yellow dress with a light shade of pink in the middle and she had her hair curled. She looked like an angel.

"You don't look bad yourself," Miu kissed me and smiled as I put her down.

"So what I was the plan for tonight, again? Going back up to your room and then doing it for a few hours, right?" I asked jokingly.

"You've gotta buy me dinner first," she replied flirtaciously. Then she gave me a look that said, "You know I wasn't serious about that, right?" I returned the look with a look of my own that said, "Yeah, I know."

"Okay, let's not waste any time then," I wrapped my arm around Miu and we started walking.

Miu and I had dinner at Olive Garden and actually ended up having a good time. My superhero career practiclly disappeared as we talked about normal things like how her finals went, soccer, movies, plans for the summer. I stopped stressing about the war for once which was definately a plus.

"You're the best boyfriend in the world," Miu told me as we walked down the street together after we left the restaraunt.

"It helps that you're the best girlfriend in the world," I replied.

"I never had a boyfriend who cared for me as much as you do. I mean it isn't even like my other boyfriends were douchebags or anything it's just... you're different," Miu moved closer to me.

"I feel the same way about you. I was only in one other serious relationship before us* but I didn't feel the same way for her. Like... I think the way I felt for I felt for you after just a few days and then this," I told Miu. *= Jason goes out with Kitty Pryde in Parts 1-3 of Aracnor.

"Remember like a month ago, when we first started going out?" Miu asked me, we stopped walking.

"What about it?" I was unsure what she was reffering to.

"When we both said we think we might love each other..." Miu started staring into my eyes. "I love you. I really love you Jason."

"I love you too Miu. I mean it. When I'm around you every problem I have just-"

"Disappears. Like we're the only people in the world," Miu finished my thought. We kissed. Nothing else mattered right now. Just this. Just us. There wasn't a war. No one died. Only Miu, myself, and our love for each other. Perfect.


	5. Gathering Information

"Aracnor get in here!" Captain America called me to the monitor room around noon 3 weeks after Goliath's death. We tried to stay quiet as best we could and got every scrap of information we could about what Iron Man's side was doing. Cap wasn't completely healed yet but he was nearly there.  
"Yeah Cap?" I asked as I bolted in.  
"Spider-Man's gone rogue," he pointed to a screen. "SHIELD's gonna send that Thunderbolts team I told you about. Distract some of them, I've got someone ready to get Spidey down here."  
"Yes sir," I nodded as I turned and left quickly. The Thunderbolts were a team of villains the CIA hired, they actually allowed super villains to register as heroes. They had put some sort of chip in them to keep them under control but I doubted that would really work. Especially since they had to choose people like Bullseye and Taskmaster to be on the team.  
I ran through the tunnels of the sewer trying to get to the point where the Thunderbolts were going to enter from. I got there in a few minutes and my spider-sense went off as I rounded the corner and was met with Venom and Lady Deathstrike. "I'm looking for the fabric softener. Which aisle is that in?" I attempted to joke.  
"Well well, looks like we found the little spider," Venom snarled. "Iron Man doesn't want him but we haven;t had any fun in a while."  
"You think getting beat up is fun!" I lunged at Venom and tried to punch him but he dodged it. My spider sense told me that Lady Deathstrike was attacking me on my left and I knew Venom was on my right probably getting ready to attack at the same time so I ducked out of the way and hopped back.  
"Too slow!" I replied as I shot webbing at the two of them and sprinted down the small corridors of the sewer. I needed to escape but at the same time keep their attention. At least long enough for whoever to get Spider-Man back to our base. I knew I wasn't strong enough to actually beat these two, especially without any help so I just had to find a way to outsmart them. I wanted to go into the streets and just swing around but that was a bad idea, Iron Man was probrably hoping Spider-Man would try it so I would have to simply navigate the tunnels and hide well enough for Venom and Lady Deathstrike not to find me.  
I darted around a corner and turned back into my human form as the two ripped the webbing off and chased me. I shot webs behind me as I ran and I realized where I could hide: the Morlock tunnels. They were deserted and I could use them to hide easy.  
My spider sense didn't go off so I didn't notice Venom's symbiote wrapping around my arms until it was too late. That's what I hated the most about Venom, I couldn't pick him up with my spider-sense. "We have you now!" Venom snickered as he reeled me in with his tentacles and started to punch me as formed a tail and wrapped it around me(releasing the tentacles) as he continued to punch me.  
"Just wait til I get loose..." I said through gritted teeth after getting punched.  
"You won't be getting loose! We're stronger than you. And Iron Man is gonna be happy once he sees we got both of you spider-runts. I'm the good guy now and you're the villain!" Venom snapped back.  
I was starting to wiggle my hands out of the tail but my spider-sense went off. Lady Deathstrike was back. "Let me in on the fun," she smiled as she grabbed my face with her long adamantium fingernails. She ran one of her fingers over my forehead and down the side of my face, cutting me. Then out of nowhere she slashed her whole hand across my chest, then my face.  
I wasn't sure what was going to happen at this point. They were supposed to bring me back, but did it matter if I was dead or alive? Cap sent me alone, he knew who were Thunderbolts, he must've thought I could handle them on my own. Maybe he knew something I didn't. I couldn't think straight, I was losing blood from all of Deathstrike's cuts she was putting in me. I kind of just got ready for the worst.

Finally I concluded that I was going to die, I was going to be killed by Lady Deathstrike and Venom. I couldn't let it happen but what choice did I have in the matter? I struggled to release myself from the grip of the tail but it was hopeless.  
"I think little Spider-Boy here's trying to get loose," Venom laughed.  
"And do what? We'll still kill him. There's nothing he can do to stop us," Lady Deathstrike glared into my eyes.  
"I swear I'll kill both of you!" I screamed as I struggled.  
When all hope for my life seemed lost Venom yelled out in pain and released me. Then X-23 lept and tackled Lady Deathstrike against the wall. I struggled to my feet and shot a load of webbing into Venom's eyes. I was having trouble seeing because some of my blood got in my eyes but I still tried to fight.  
I barely was able to dodge the kick that Venom sent at me. X-23 couldn't help much because she was busy trying to handle Lady Deathstrike. They seemed equally matched. I hoped Laura could handle her. I knew I would have to find a way to at least keep Venom distracted long enough for X-23 to take out Deathstrike.  
"You're kidding me kid. You're dead on your feet, you don't have a chance against me!" Venom declared.  
"Says you..." I said weakly as I tried to punch him, he blocked it. I used my other hand, he blocked it. I needed to think of a plan fast to trick Venom. I couldn't beat him when it came to brute strength, especially in my beaten position.  
Then I noticed a pipe above my head. I punched a hole in it and sewage started to blast out at Venom. At the same time X-23 seemed to have the upper-hand against Deathstrike. I started to punch and kick Venom with everything I had as quickly as I could.  
"Come on!" X-23 yelled to me after stabbing Lady Deathstrike in the throat. I ran after her clumbsily. She led me down a series of corridors before reaching some sort of hidden ladder and jumped down, I follwed. We were in the Morlock tunnels. Finally we stopped in a room that looked like it still had someone living in it.  
"You left the X-Men?" I asked.  
"Yeah... I owe Captain America, he helped me out once," Laura said.  
"Why aren't you up in the safehouse with the others?" I asked.  
"Cap said it'd be a good idea to have a few secret resources like me and Punisher," Laura explained.  
"Punisher's on our side? But he's-" I started.  
"Not as bad as Venom and Lady Deathstrike," Laura interjected.  
"Think they'll find us?," I asked Laura as my cuts slowly started to heal.  
"They might. We should keep moving. I know a way back to the safehouse from here," Laura explained. "How much longer do you think you'll need to heal?"  
"A few minutes" I replied as I followed Laura down the new set of tunnels.  
We ended up getting lucky and didn't see Deathstrike or Venom again. I honestly don't think I would have survived a second round with Venom, not like this anyway. I told myself that I'd be ready the next time I fought Venom. I needed more open space next time and I needed it to be one on one. I'd have a chance if I had that.

When we got back we found out that Spider-Man ran into Jack O Lanturn and Jester. Punisher killed them and brought Spidey back to base. Spidey told us where all the superheroes who got arrested were being held: in the Negative Zone. They called the prison there 42 for some unknown reason. The cells there were specificlly built to nullify the prisoner's powers(ex. People who have powers that require heat are in ice cold cells). Breaking out would be near impossible.

We spent the next two weeks focusing on gathering the information we could on the Fifty-State Initiative, the 42 complex, and anyone else Stark might have secretly employed. Unfortunately this led to more of guys getting captured. Lucky for us Black Panther and Storm joined our side from Wakanda. Finally we had everything we felt we needed and decided we were going to break in to get everyone else out in a few days.

--2 days before 42 breakout...-- My phone rung and for the first time in a while it wasn't from Miu. It was Iceman. "Hello?" I answered the call.

"Yo Jason, it's me Bobby," he replied.

"Yeah, I know... umm... what are you calling me about? I'm kind of busy," I told him.

"Oh, sorry. Here's the thing... a few of us X-Men, well you know the ones our age, we wanna help you guys out. Emma really is being stupid about this. It's only a matter of time before we become targets," Bobby explained.

"Really? Man that's awesome, we've been needing some more help," I replied.

"Great. Where do you want us to meet you guys at?" Bobby asked.

"Umm... how about Central Park at 1 a.m.?" I suggested.

"Yeah, that'll work. Later dude," he hung up. I started to get up to go tell Cap but then my phone rang again. Pixie this time. "Hey Meg, Bobby just called me."

"Yeah, about that..." she started. She was practiclly whispering.

"What?" I asked.

"It's a trap. They're trying to keep Iron Man off our backs and figured helping lead him to you guys would do that," Megan explained.

"Why are you telling me?" I asked out of curiosity.

"Because it's a cheap move. And it's not right. I mean... I don't completely agree with you guys but I don't think they should be tricking you like that. We were all friends before but now it's just getting out of hand," Megan told me.

"Oh... thanks. Thanks a lot Meg. You really are a great friend for this," I thanked Megan before hanging up.

--Central Park, 1 a.m.-- I waited for the X-Men in the dark under the trees in the park. They were late. I wasn't planning on leaving without seeing them. I had no idea what this trap could be. Finally I saw a group walking in the distance and immediately noticed Rockslide. I emerged from the darkness. Rockslide, Iceman, Anole, Surge, and Cipher were walking in my direction. They saw me.

"Hey, well we're here... ready to join the resistance," Rockslide said.

I simply nodded.

"You okay Jason? Can't really tell with that mask on," Surge asked.

"I'm fine. Just trying to figure how I should ask who's bright idea this was," I replied coolly.

"What?" Iceman tried to fake a surprised sound. Didn't work.

"I'm not stupid. This is a set up," I said.

"You're stupid enough to come anyway when you're outnumbered," Rockslide pointed out. The five of them got ready to attack me as a group of capkillers joined them.

"Actually I'm smart enough to bring a plan B," I kept my cool.

"And what's that?" Rockslide asked.

"Speed," I replied and in an instant I was gone. I told Tommy about the set up after I talked with Megan. He was all up for helping me out with this one. The only reason I decided to still go was because I needed to see for sure that they were ambushing me. I trusted Megan but still, I had to be sure. Speed had us back at base before I blinked.

--1 night before 42 breakout...-- "They ambushed you?" Eli asked after I told the rest of the Young Avengers(Patriot, Speed, Hawkeye, X-23, myself) and Runaways(Chase, Victor, Molly, Karolina, Xavin) what happened the night before while were just sitting around trying to hide how nervous we were.

"Yeah. They told me they wanted to help us. Then Pixie calls me and tells me it's a trap," I explained.

"Then I came and saved the day," Tommy interjected.

"I've gotta admit, that was a good save. They had no idea what happened," I laughed a bit.

"We never really liked the X-Men. Bad experience," Karolina said.

"Wolverine's a poopie head and he smells like beer and cigars all the time," Molly added.

"I'm his clone," Laura told her.

"But you're a girl!" Molly and Chase both replied at the same time before Chase added, "And you're hot."

Laura ignored Chase's last comment and went on with, "Weapon X tried and failed 22 times to clone a male. They tried a female and got me."

"Not all of the X-Men are bad... I mean Pixie warned me. And Kitty probably didn't have anything to do with it. And if me and Laura count for anything..." I pointed out.

"Well you can't assume there's something wrong with the whole bunch cuz of a few rotten apples. Look at 's a Skrull and wouldn't do anything bad to anyone here," Karolina supported what I said.

My phone vibrated. Miu texted me, "Be careful tmrw. OK?"

I replied with, "Of course I will"

"Hold on... anyone see Teddy?" Kate asked after taking a look around.

"Not since yesterday. He was talking with Cap about something," I answered.

"Why would Cap send Hulkling away on a mission now of all times? We're already outnumbered as is," Eli wondered.

"He must have done it for a reason," I replied.

"I hate to go and change the subject suddenly but is anyone else hungry?" Tommy asked.

"Kind of. Yeah. Mm-hmm," most of us replied.

"I'm running to White Castle and getting a Crave Case," Tommy started to count us all, "Or two." And with that he was gone in a flash.

"Is White Castle really the best thing for us to be eating the night before the breakout?" Karolina asked.

"We'll be fine. It's just supposed to be a breakout," Eli answered.

"Yeah, but there's like a 99% chance Iron Man knows we're doing it and then it'll turn into a huge fight," Kate pointed out.

"And the winner of most optimistic superheroine in New York, drumroll please... Kate Bishop!" I joked as my phone vibrated again.

"Were hanging out this weekend then." Miu's text read. I sent back, "Okay. Call you tommorrow to make plans."

"Shut up!" Kate threw an empty soda can at me. I ducked.

A few minutes later Tommy sped back in with the food, "Who's the man?" We spent the next hour eating and talking without worrying about tommorrow. The only thing we had to think about was tonight. We weren't superheroes or soldiers tonight like we would be tommorrow. Tonight we were just teenagers hanging out. That's what counted.


	6. Trial and Error

*The next day, The Negative Zone...* "Oww.. oww.. oww..." I held my head, my spider sense was exploding.

"Cap, I think we have a problem," Spider-Man said for me while his spider-sense blared in his head.

At that moment Iron Man and his registered heroes came in, they expected us, as we expected them to. "Give it up Cap. You're outnumbered," Iron Man told us. He had more people with him than last time, the Thunderbolts were with him and so were the heroes who left our side. We were probrably only half their size at this point.

"You really think we came all the way here to surrender?" Captain America asked retoriclly.

"We know your stradegy, we planted a mole on you guys weeks ago," Iron Man told him.

"If you're talking about Tigra, we knew. And we had a mole planted on you guys too," Cap stated calmly.

"What?" Iron Man was shocked to hear we had a mole planted on them. I imediately hoped it was Stature.

"Sorry Tony," Yellowjacket said. Yellowjacket was the spy, I found it hard to believe.

"But Hank why? You supported the Registration Act more than any of us," Iron Man asked.

"Because I'm not Hank," he turned into Hulkling. "But I may as well have been, I had full access to everything he had, even retinal scanners."

"But that means-" Iron Man started.

The prisoners who Hulkling released joined our side.

"Good thing we're gonna be locked in here until this thing is done once and for all," Iron Man said after regaining his composure.

Everyone stared each other down. I balled my hands into fists as Hawkeye loaded her bow and Patriot gripped his shield on either side of me. At this point we weren't outnumbered but it seemed as though we were outmatched even with Yellowjacket out of the picture.

Finally after a long silence Captain America yelled, "Avengers Assemble!" and the fight was on.

I shot a webline at Arana's face and punched her in the stomach. She attempted to punch me but I used my other hand to block it. Arana was one of the Initiative trainees. Basicly she was kind of like Spider-Woman. I read all of her information the week before and knew she couldn't beat me, I was stronger and faster, unless she was trained to think better than me she wasn't going to win. I punched her again before my spider-sense went off and I jumped up, avoiding Wonderman who attacked me.

I shot a load of webbing at the both of them. It hit Arana dead on but Wonderman flew out of the way and met me while I fell to the ground. He punched hard in the face and I attempted to punch him back but he dodged, he tried to punch me again but I flipped in the air avoiding the hit. Instead Wonderman was hit with a fireball hurled at him by Xavin.

She-Hulk was coming up from behind Xavin and I shot a web blast at her face and while she back away trying to pull it from her face she was tackled by Old Lace. My spider-sense went off as Stature attempted to step on me. "Really Cassie? You know me better than that," I said to her.

"Yeah, and I know how to distract-" I dodged an energy blast someone sent at me while she was saying this. "Dammit!"

"Sorry Cass but I don't think that Initiative training helped much," I jumped onto Stature's shoulder. She swatted at me and I jumped onto the other, "I've been training too believe it or not. I learned this one really cool trick that should work on you, wanna see?" I jumped back to her other shoulder. "Pressure point!" I punched one of the pressure points in her neck. She grabbed her neck and stumbled backwards as I jumped off and shifted my attention to Tigra, "Here kitty kitty."

"I don't know who's more annoying at this point: Spider-Man or you trying to be Spider-Man?" Tigra attempted to slash me with her claws. I ducked.

"Aww, I'm sorry you feel that way Tigra," I attempted to shoot web into her face but she jumped out of the way.

Suddenly it got dark and everyone looked up. "Is that... Is that Cloak?" I heard someone ask. We were all sucked up by him and it was pitch black, when we saw light again we were above the city again, falling. This wasn't part of the plan. Civillians were here, they could get hurt. From the looks of it they were already trying to evacuate so at least we had that much. "Flyers, grab someone!" Cap ordered. I grabbed Molly and Patriot then shot a webline at one of the buildings.

We'd barely touched ground when I saw Venom heading my way. I flipped over him and kicked him in the back. I knew this fight would happen. I had a plan this time. "You're not escaping this time kid!" Venom snarled at me as he attempted to grab me. I sidestepped him.

I jumped onto a traffic light and shot a load of webbing at Venom but he was already lunging at me I dropped off of the light and punched up knowing that Venom would follow me down. My fist hit him in the jaw but it wasn't strong enough to keep him from landing on me and punching me in the face. I tried to get loose from his grip but he was too strong. Lucky for me Spider-Man knocked off of me, "Venom, buddy. You aren't trying to take Aracnor's lunch money, are you?"

"How cute... now both of you are going to die!" Venom snarled as he shot a webline at us. I jumped, Spidey ducked.

"Double whammy?" Spider-Man asked.

"You know it," I replied. We both ran at Venom from either side of him and kicked him in the head. We kept hitting him and moving prevent Venom many opportunities for a counterattack. The battlestarted to intensify as reinforcements started to arrive. Some more of the registered Initiative heroes and Thor's clone.

Venom managed to get a hold of me and threw me into the side of a building then did the same to Spider-Man, "Did you two seriously think that would work?"

"Not really. But that might," Spider-Man pointed up.

"Huh?" Venom looked up and saw Namor and a group of Atlantians on a rooftop before they attacked him. He was out of it by the time they were done with him. I looked around to figure what I would do next but that didn't seem to matter at this point. Everyone stopped fighting.

Then I saw why everyone stopped fighting. Captain America. In handcuffs. Unmasked. Did we just lose? I moved closer to hear what was happening.

"Cap..." Falcon started.

"Stand down. All of you. This battle is over," Steve said sternly.

"But Cap-" I started.

"Shut it Aracnor! It's over!" he barked at me. "Falcon... you know what to do."

Cloak teleported us back to the safehouse where we all waited in silence waiting for Falcon to say something. "Okay guys, here's the deal: We all know we lost the battle and that Cap got arrested. Now that doesn't mean this is over but if anyone wants out, then do it now," Falcon started. Human Torch and Invisible Woman turned out to be the only ones to leave. "Okay, now let's get all the injured patched up and then we're moving to another safehouse."

*3 hours later, the new safehouse...*

"Aracnor," Falcon approached me.

"Yeah?" I asked.

"They're putting Cap on trial Saturday. I want you to go undercover there. You're one of the only ones here that has a face that won't get recognized so you'll be in the crowd. We're not busting Cap out though. Not neccesarily. If things get bad, then get him out but otherwise this is just an observational mission," Falcon explained.

"Okay. I can do that," I told him. "Is it just me?"

"No. Bucky'll be there on the ground with you. I'll be watching in the air, so will Hulkling," Falcon answered.

"Got it. I'll be ready," I replied. I layed down on my bed and just stared at the ceiling. Was I in over my head yet? While I pondered that my phone started to ring. Miu. I picked it up, "Hey."

"You're okay? I saw the battle on the news. You said it was just supposed to be a quick break out," Miu's voice was a mix of worry and annoyance.

"Yeah, umm... Iron Man kind of figured it out and it turned into a huge battle in the Negative Zone then Cloak teleported us all out and we ended up fighting in the city. Would you be mad if I said we couldn't hang out this weekend?" I asked Miu.

"Yeah... it's fine. What are you doing this time?" she sighed.

"Captain America's trial," I explained. "Miu... I promise we'll hang out as soon as I get a free moment. I love you more than anything else in the world. It's just, everything's happening all at once now."

"I know... I just miss you," Miu sighed. "Abby thinks you died or something." Abby is Miu's best friend, one of the few people who know she's a mutant.

I laughed a bit, "I'm so sore I can't even think of something to say to that. Are we hanging out with her next time?"

"I don't know. Just call me so we can hang out soon," Miu answered.

"I will. I love you," I told her.

"I love you too."

*Saturday, Courthouse...*

The big day was finally here. Something bad was bound to happen with the way these crowds were. A ton of people were holding signs and screaming for Cap to be released while just as many were doing the same saying he should be thrown in jail. Things would definately get out of hand once Cap actually arrived. I was standing towards the back talking to Bucky.

"This is crazy, he's not even here yet. They'll start a riot at this rate," I pointed out.

"Yeah, and if you haven't noticed there's a huge lack of security here. Cap may be a super soldier but he's still human," Bucky said.

"Maybe S.H.I.E.L.D. has a ton of security with him right now," I suggested.

"Maybe," Bucky replied.

The crowd became more unrested when Cap was finally brought in. People started booing him and others screaming for him to be released. Someone even threw a tomato at him. "Things aren't going to go well," Bucky said, holding the gun in his pocket. Worst part was my spider-sense started to buzz a bit. I moved as fast as I could to get somewhere hidden and pulled off my clothes to reveal my costume. Then I swung back to the courthouse just in time to see Cap get shot in the shoulder. "CAP!" I screamed as I jumped to the ground to help him.

I sensed someone behind me, with a gun. I turned and saw it was Sharon Carter. She was a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent and also, last I checked, Cap's girlfriend. She shot two bullets at me that would have hit Cap if I wasn't there. "Bitch..." I muttered before punching her in the face and knocking her out.

"Aracnor, get Cap out of there!" Falcone told me over a headset.

"Don't needa tell me twice," I said weakly as I picked up Cap and started to swing off. Hulkling flew next to me and took Cap for me seeing how weak I was as we started to head back to the safehouse. "What was with that back there Cap?"

"I don't know... Sharon might've been brainwashed to do that," Cap suggested.

An hour later we found ourselves back at the safehouse discussing what happened. Crossbones shot Cap the first time. Bucky and Falcon took him out, S.H.I.E.L.D. has him in custody. Sharon Carter was most likely brainwashed into trying to kill Cap which led to me getting shot instead. Cap decided that it'd be best to just record a video to send to the news stations about what had just happened.

"My name is Steve Rogers, you all know me as Captain America. Today I was to be put on trial for violating the Superhuman Registration Act and leading an underground group of Avengers. For anyone who doesn't know why I did it, it's because I found the Superhuman Registration Act to be unconstitutional. Superheroes protect the public from anything that threatens it and in return we ask for privacy. That privacy ensures that we can live a normal life out of costume if we choose to and keeps our loved ones from becoming targets our enemies can use to reach us. Spider-Man's aunt is dying in a hospital right now because his enemies tried to kill him and got her instead. I was nearly killed by my brainwashed girlfriend and my worst enemy in front of the courthouse today had it not been for a handful of the unregistered heroes I've been working alongside. I just have one question about this. Where were the registered superheroes? If they're supposed to be here to protect us why wouldn't they have been at the trial. Far worse things could have happened. Civillians could have been hurt and the only superheroes on sight were the ones who wouldn't support the registration act. I'm sorry, but I can never support this act. Also I'd like to make an offer. The battle that took place in the city caused some damage. My team and I are willing to clean it up so long as we are not arrested for doing so. We're willing to clean up our messes but we also want privacy in our lives. We'll wait for an answer," Captain America finished his message and stopped the camera.


	7. Outnumbered

A few hours after Captain America's message was aired on every major news channel Iron Man aired one of his own. He said he would allow us to clean up the mess our battle left behind but that was it. During the clean up I came across what appeared to be a bionic eye which I later found out was from Thor's clone. Hercules had destroyed it in the battle. Good ridance if you asked me. That did make me notice a lot of things about the battle that had occured though. The entire time I was focused on not getting killed by Venom I was oblivious to the battle surrounding me.

The Wakandan embassy was destroyed leaving Black Panther and Storm with the problem of rebuilding their entire embassy and relocating during the construction. Storm and Black Panther were now preoccuppied by this. Spider-Man's Aunt May was shot by a hitman the Kingpin hired to kill him. She was dying and he wasn't exactly the happiest person in the world about it. He started wearing his black costume again and only had one thought on his mind: revenge. I tried to talk to him about it but it didn't work out too well:

"Hey Pete, umm... I know you're really upset about your aunt and all but is what you're doing really the best idea?" I asked him one day after he got back from chasing down leads.

"My aunt is dying. What would you suggest?" he asked coldly.

"I'm just saying revenge isn't always the best thing. I get that you want to bring them to justice but if you murder them you're no better than any of them and it only makes the Registration Act look good," I tried to explain.

Instead of actually answering Spider-Man grabbed me by the neck and slammed me against the wall, "Do you think I care about the Registration Act at this point!?!? The woman who raised me is dying and it's my fault! I swear if she dies- Just don't get in my way or you'll regret it," Spider-Man let me go and walked off.

Everyone seemed to become preoccuppied with their own problems all of a sudden. Black Panther. Storm. Spider-Man. Even Captain America started to shift his attention to other things. He, Falcon, and Winter Soldier were trying to track down the Red Skull to find out how he brainwashed Sharon Carter. But what happened to the war though? I needed to ask Cap about that.

"Hey Cap," I approached him when he got back that night. "Can I ask you about something?"

"Yeah, guess so," he replied as he sat down and pulled off his mask.

"About this whole Superhero Civil War thing, what happened? I mean we used to focus on it but now everyone's off doing their own thing," I said.

"Honestly? I met with Iron Man a few days ago. We called a truce of sorts. After what happened outside the Baxter Building and at the courthouse he said the whole unregistered hero hunt is causing more damage than anything else so they're calling that off. That doesn't mean this is exactly over, they'll still try arresting us if they bump into us anywhere, but we don't need to worry about fighting them as much anymore. Considering I'm still alive and no one who doesn't deserve it is locked up in 42 things went pretty well. If only we didn't lose Bill..." I looked down at that. I tried to forget about it. "You can go back to living your life the way you used to, you just have to be careful now."

"Okay... umm... One more thing Cap... when you fought Iron Man, what exactly happened? I mean, you got taken away in handcuffs. How'd that happen?" I asked. I was curious about how that happened. I honestly had no idea about most of what happened in that battle.

Cap sighed, "Well at the start I had Vision deactivate Iron Man's armor to level the playing field in my favor. We fought a pretty even fight until his armor went back online and he shot me a repulsor blast. We kept fighting until Iron Man pointed out that the fight wouldn't really end until either all of his side was down or I was and how the best way to keep civillians from getting hurt was for me to surrender. The whole reason we rebelled was because we needed to show everyone that just because we're unregistered it doesn't mean we aren't still putting civillians first. They wanted to safe with us, that's why they wanted us registered."

"So to keep the civillians safe you surrendered..." I thought outloud. "Thanks Cap."

I decided I'd try to surprise Miu by dropping by her house. Wasn't sure if that was possible with her superhearing but I figured it was worth a shot. Either way I'd get to see her. When I got to her house I was about to ring the doorbell when the door opened. "JASON!" Miu screamed the second she saw me and started hugging me to the point where I thought she might've been trying to strangle me. "Oh my god! You could've told me you were coming by, I'm a mess." Miu was wearing an oversized t-shirt, a pair of shorts and no make up.

"Because I wanted to surprise you. And you're not a mess. You're beautiful," I told Miu before I kissed her on the cheek.

"Okay, well just give me some time to change. Where are we gonna go?" Miu asked.

"Umm... idunno. Hungry?" I asked.

"Sushi," she replied as she closed her door to change.

"You gonna need any help getting changed?" I called upstairs to her.

Miu laughed, "I actually want to put clothes _on_. You won't be much help with that."

"If you say so," I replied.

"I love you."

"Love you too."

Half an hour later Miu and I were in sushi bar at the mall that Miu frequently went to with her friends. I honestly hadn't stepped foot in the mall since I went Christmas shopping. I didn't have much time for it anyway. I filled Miu in about what had happened lately and how the war for the most part had died down. Things could probably get close to being normal again for us.

"What about school?" Miu asked. "Are you going back to the X-Mansion or..."

"Crap... honestly I don't know. I doubt I'm welcome back, considering half the X-Men tried getting me arrested. I guess I could always ask Cap for help with that and I could go to public school," I said before taking a sip of my soda.

"Our whole summer got wasted with that stupid war. It's already August," Miu sighed.

"We still have time to do something," I tried to be optimistic. "I'll find out when my cousin and her friends are heading back to LA, we can go with them for like a week and take a vacation."

"Do you really think my parents would let me go?"

"It's worth asking. You never know," I replied. Suddenly my spider sense went off. "Crap... do you hear anything?"

"Anything like-" Miu started but was interrupted by an explosion on the other end of the food court.

"Nobody move!" a familiar voice bellowed. I recognized it immediately as Eragon's. "Now get your cash, jewelery, credit cards and all the good stuff ready and this'll be over quick."

"I'll be back in a sec," I whispered to Miu. She nodded as I started to ease away. When did Eragon get out of jail?

"Valuables? Sorry Eragon, I left my pearls in my other costume. Would you settle for some webbing instead?" I asked as I swung back into the food court in costume. When I got a good look at Eragon I noticed he looked way bigger. "Did you have a growth spurt since we last met?" (Author's Note: The Young Avengers fought Eragon in Aracnor Part 1: Homecoming, Chapter 2)

"Aracnor... where are the rest of your Teen Avengers?" he growled at me before throwing a fireball at me.

I jumped over it and replied with, "One we're the Young Avengers, not that Teen Avengers is a bad name or anything. But it's just me and you today."

"Really? Then I guess this'll be easier than I thought," Eragon replied before flying at me. I ducked, narrowly avoiding getting cut by the tip of his left wing then grabbed a hold of his tail as he kept flying. I was throwing him off balance so he couldn't fly straight which not have been the best idea but it was all I could think of. I shot a webline at a wall behind us and held onto both it and Eragon's tail but Eragon proved to be stronger as he made the webline snap and sent me flying across the food court into an unoccupied table. People started to run out of the food court to the exits while Eragon was distracted by me. One less thing for me to worry about.

"Ow..." I muttered getting up. "Someone's been eating their spinach." I grabbed a nearby chair and threw it at Eragon who slashed it to pieces with his claws.

"You're in way over your head kid. Without your team you don't stand a chance," Eragon taunted me as he started flying towards me again.

"Don't be so sure about that. I've got a few tricks up my sleeve," I said as I raised my left hand and shot a stinger out of my webshooter. That was one of the reasons I kept the webshooters with the costume even though my webs were organic: I could use stingers in the webshooters if I ever needed to and the costume didn't look right without it. Too much plain red.

"ARGGH!!" Eragon screamed as the stinger hit him in the side of the face.

"There's more from where that came from!" I jumped and tackled Eragon back to the ground and punched him hard in the face before flipping away, avoiding a slash from his claws. He shot another fireball at me that I sidestepped with ease. "_I'm_ in over my head?"

I spoke too soon. My spider sense went off. I jumped up and saw that Gargoyle was here as well. He too was much larger than the last time I fought him(Author's Note: Aracnor Part 1: Homecoming, Chapters 4 and 5). "Hey, Gargoyle buddy... did you get a haircut?" I asked as I clung to the ceiling looking at my two enemies. Eragon I knew I could handle on my own but Gargoyle was a different story. I needed a plan.

"You could say that," Gargoyle chuckled a bit as he stared me down. I jumped down and kicked Eragon and Gargoyle in the face before they had a chance to attack me. Eragon went flying but Gargoyle didn't budge. His face was rock hard.

"CRAP!" I tried to hop out of the way on my good foot but lost my balance and fell.

"Nice trick, huh?" Gargoyle tried to stomp on me but I rolled out of the way. "My skin's rock hard all the time now. Last time I couldn't do it all the time but now," Gargoyle tried to kick me. I flipped back into a handstand. "I'm gonna be impossible for a wimp like you to beat."

Eragon threw three more fireballs at me that I dropped back to the ground to avoid but was met with Gargoyle's fist punching me in the ribs. I shot a load of webbing in Gargoyle's face, got up and punched him in the face. No reaction to that other than my fist screaming to my brain in pain. I shifted my attention to Eragon who was charging at me. I met with him a safe distance from Gargoyle and ducked Eragon's roundhouse kick and countered it with an uppercut and another blast of webbing to the face.

"You're all under arrest," a familiar voice said from the entrance of the food court. My two foes and I looked and saw Stature with a group of superheroes I was mostly unfamiliar with(I noticed Thor Girl).

"Really Stature?" I asked. "I'm the good guy here if you didn't notice. And these guys are from the Young Avengers' rogue list so... yeah, I'll handle it."

"You're not a Young Avenger anymore, Aracnor. We are. Thor Girl, Armory: Take Gargoyle. MVP, Komodo: Help me with Eragon. Scarlet Spiders: Get Aracnor," Stature directed orders to her team of 'Young Avengers'. She had some nerve. She leaves the team and takes the name with her. Her 3 Scarlet Spiders were all wearing costumes that looked exactly like Spider-Man's Iron Spider costume he got rid of after joining us. Their name bugged me too considering I was wearing the real Scarlet Spider's costume. Maybe it would have been a good idea to have taken his name too when I had the chance.

I decided not to wait around and started swinging to the nearest exit. The Scarlet Spiders followed and made their first attack just as I made it out of the doors of the mall and into the parking garage. They all shot weblines of their own at me. I spun midair to avoid each webline and kicked my good leg, managing to hit one of the Scarlet Spiders in the neck.I landed on the ground a milisecond before the Scarlet Spiders did. I noticed their movements were similar to Spider-Man's but they didn't seem to be coming naturally for the three as they did for Spider-Man or myself even.

"So are you guys Spider-Man clones or what? They did that a few years back already and it didn't work out so well," I said as I shot two weblines that were dodged and sent a punch to my left and ducked my head. I hit one of the Scarlet Spiders and managed to avoid another's punch but was hit by the last one's kick. The other two managed to follow up with punches of their own that finally connected with me. "You guys aren't very talkative, are you?"

I backflipped as they sent a flurry of punches and kicks at me before I changed my method and jumped to the ceiling then kicked off and spin kicked the three of them into cars. "Doubt they have spider sense," I thought to myself as I made a break for it. I ran until I hit the streets and started swinging for six blocks before dropping back to the streets and ducking into an alley. If I was right about them not having spider sense then I'd be safe.

An hour later I was back at the safehouse with Miu talking to the rest of the Young Avengers about what had happened. "There's another team of Young Avengers?" Kate asked. Eli spat out the soda he was drinking.

"That's what Cassie said. There's her, Thor Girl, some girl with a cannon arm called Armory, some guy named MVP, a lizard chick named Komodo, and three guys called the Scarlet Spiders wearing Iron Spider-Man costumes," I explained.

"That's our name. We had it first. Cassie left us, not the other way around. How the hell does she get to take our name?" Eli slammed his fist on the table.

"Easy. She's registered, we're not," Kate pointed out.

"I can't believe they're gonna get the credit for fighting Gargoyle and Eragon. They'll probably claim I was helping them," I sighed. "I think Gargoyle broke my knuckles, or something in my foot. Idunno."

"Am I the only one who wants to fight them?" Tommy asked.

"That won't do anything, you know that," Billy pointed out.

"Doesn't change the fact I wanna beat the crap out of them," Tommy said.

"What was up with Eragon and Gargoyle anyway?" Teddy asked.

"Eragon was, well, bigger. He was pretty skinny last time but this time he was built like a linebacker. Gargoyle was way uglier and bigger from the looks of it and he was completely rock hard. Remember how it was temporary last time? Not anymore," I explained.

"Great..." Eli muttered.

"What'd you do while I was on my little play date?" I turned to Miu who was silently observing the conversation from my side.

"Oh, umm... I called my mom and tried to convince her to let me go away with you," Miu answered.

"How'd that go?"

"She's fine with you taking me down the shore in Jersey for a few days... that's what I told her. I mean, I doubt she would have been fine with California."

"I honestly don't care so much about where go, just as long as you and me can get away from all of this for a little bit," I smiled at Miu then kisssed her.

Tommy whistled and Eli coughed, "Get a room."

"Don't you guys have something better to do?" I asked jokingly.

I talked to Nico who told me that they were planning on gonig back to California in at the end of the week which worked out perfectly for Miu and myself. Unfortunately we still had four days. Four long days. I didn't want to put on my costume again after my fights against Gargoyle, Eragon, and the Scarlet Spiders. My hand and foot that I hit Gargoyle with ached like crazy. Saying he was hard as rock was an understatement.

I woke up late the next day and found that the rest of the Young Avengers and most of the Runaways had already left for the day. "Hey Jason!" Molly greeted me. I guess she didn't go with them.

"Hey Molly, where'd everyone go?" I asked.

"Nico and everyone went sightseeing and your friends said they were meeting someone somewhere," Molly answered.

"Why are you still around?" I went on.

"I wanted to spend the day with you," she replied. It hadn't dawned on me until now that I hadn't spent any time with my own cousin since we got to New York. That needed to change considering I hadn't seen her for years. I needed to become an active part of her life starting now.

"Okay, sounds like a plan," I replied.

We spent the next 2 hours wandering the city while I pointed out things to Molly. I wouldn't exactly call it sightseeing, mainly because the spots I pointed out were more along the lines of, "We fought Digitek over in that warehouse."; "Oh, I bumped into my first Sentinel right here."; "There's Avengers Mansion, what's left of it at least, where we met as a team and stuff." rather than typical things someone would say about their own neighborhood.

"Oh, and here's... here's the old place," I said as Molly and I stopped outside of the place I once called home. "Remember that one year you guys came by for Christmas?"

"Umm... yeah! Aunt Nikki(Author's note: Jason's mom) got me a My Little Pony and you knocked over the Christmas tree," Molly giggled.

"It was your fault," I laughed. It was hard to believe that it was only a few years ago that I was a normal kid with a normal family. Then I noticed something out of the corner or my eye: Bobby. My spider sense wasn't going off but he was looking at me from down the street.

"What's wrong Jason?" Molly asked.

"I needa change..." I muttered as I turned around and noticed Surge on the opposite side of the street. I started walking, Molly in tow, until I found an alley where I pulled off my street clothes and changed into my costume.

"What happened?" Molly went on.

"We're meeting with a few of my friends," I answered pulling on my mask. "Hold on." I grabbed Molly and jumped to the the rooftop of the building on my left.

"I was starting to wonder how long it would take for you to notice us," Iceman said. Sure enough he and the other X-Men he were with had been following me. It was him, Anole, Mercury, Surge, and Rockslide this time.

"Sorry to leave you waiting," I replied coldly. "To what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Long story short you know mutants don't have to register but there's a few loose ends. Namely you two and X-23," Iceman explained.

"So you're here to capture us and throw us into 42? Good luck with that," I said tightening my hands into fists.

"You'll actually be detained to the X-Mansion if we get you," Surge pointed out.

"We'll pass on that deal," I prepared for another fight.

"I was hoping you'd say that," Rockslide growled.

I chuckled, "Funny. This is third time I've been outnumbered in 24 hours. Let's do this."


	8. Conclusion

"Molly, you ready?" I asked my 13 year old cousin as we prepared to face out with the five X-Men sent to capture us(Iceman, Anole, Mercury, Rockslide, and Surge).

"Yeah," she nodded.

I shot a web blast at Rockslide's face then jumped out of the way to avoid a wave of ice that Iceman sent at me. Mercury turned her arms into giant blades and started slashing at me while Anole went for Molly.

"Giant knives? I thought your body could take on any shape you want, why can't you be a little more original? But it's not a bad choice, Terminator 2 was my favorite. The new one with Christian Bale's a little lack-luster. I expected so much more. Care to share your thoughts?" I taunted Mercury as I continually dodged her attacks while Molly fought Anole. My spider sense went off: Rockslide had ripped off the webbing and was coming for me. I jumped into the air, causing him to punch Mercury instead. My spider sense went off Iceman. I fell to the ground with my arm frozen. again, Surge sent an electric blast at me. I spun midair and barely avoided it but was then hit by an ice blast from

"Oh, I see how it is. Four on one?" I said as I landed and saw Mercury, Rockslide, Iceman, and Surge get ready for another attack. Molly was still fighting Anole who looked to be gaining the upperhand. I needed to change that. I shot a blast of webbing at Iceman and Mercury then shot a stinger at Surge. I smashed my ice arm into Rockslide's face and then tackled Anole.

"Hey! That was my guy Jason!" Molly complained.

"All yours," I punched him once in the face and returned my attention to the other four X-Men. "I think I have my hands full anyway."

Rockslide charged me and attempted to punch me. I sidestepped it and sent an uppercut at his jaw. I knew that if I kept it close to Rockslide only Mercury would make an attempt to jump in unless Surge or Iceman decided to physically help. I sent a flurry of punches at Rockslide's stomach then roundhouse kicked him before I sensed Mercury to my right. I shot a quick shot webbing and tried to duck as my spider sensed blared in my head. Mercury turned her arm into a shield and blocked the webbing while Rockslide punched me in the face then kneed me in the stomach. I back-flipped and kicked Rockslide in the jaw then shot a webline at Mercury's leg and yanked it, tripping her.

My spider sense went off, I jumped back avoiding attacks from Iceman and Surge but ended up getting hit by second attacks they sent at where I jumped. I kept moving, knowing that if I stopped this could be the end of it. Unfortunately Iceman managed to get my legs frozen. As I attempted to free my legs he froze the rest of my body up to my neck and Surge electrocuted me once more. I started to struggle to break the ice but it wasn't working.

"It's over," Surge said. "How are things going for you Anole?"

I looked over and saw that Anole had Molly pinned to the ground. From the look of things we were out of luck. I kept struggling hoping I could somehow break the ice and save Molly. Lucky for me Molly had things under control: she kneed Anole in the balls and got out of his grip. I managed to crack the ice enough to break it.

"Later," I mocked the X-Men as I grabbed Molly and jumped off the building, swing away. I knew they'd try following but only Iceman and Surge actually could. I needed to move fast, they wouldn't need long to catch up. I swung around the corner as my spider sense started go off.

"Jason, they're behind us!" Molly told me.

"I know," I replied swinging faster. I let go of my line and fell then kicked off a building to avoid attacks they sent at me. I swung around the corner into an alley, thus making my best decision in quite a while: Pixie appeared in front of us. "You're still not with them, right?" I asked.

"I'm helping you, aren't I?" she asked as she teleported us away just as Iceman and Surge turned the corner.

---Meanwhile in Queens…--- "Did you really think we wouldn't come looking for you guys after you took our name?" Patriot asked as he and the rest of the Young Avengers faced Stature and her team.

"Considering you guys didn't register and I did, I think that gives me the right to take the name," Stature said.

"I can't believe we're listening to this crap," Speed jumped in. "We're the real Young Avengers! We didn't abandon our team! And we're about to kick your team's ass!"

The two teams of Young Avengers clashed with each other. Patriot VS MVP. Thor Girl VS Wiccan. Armory VS Vision. Stature VS Hawkeye. X-23, Hulkling, and Speed VS the Scarlet Spiders.

"MVP? You couldn't think of a better codename?" Patriot asked as he punched MVP in the jaw.

"Considering it's true and those are my initials, I thought it fit," MVP sent a kick back at Patriot but he blocked it with his shield. Patriot kicked him in the stomach and hit him with his shield. MVP kicked Patriot in the shin, knocking him to the ground.

Patriot kicked both his legs up and hit MVP in the jaw. MVP stumbled backward while Patriot got up and threw a fistful of throwing stars at MVP but he recovered from the kick he recieved and was able to dodge them then countered the attack by throwing a nearby garbage can lid. Patriot raised his shield, just barely blocking the garbage can lid from making contact.

"You're gonna have to try harder than. This isn't one of your lame ass training simulations," Patriot punched MVP hard in the face and knocked him into an alley. MVP got up to punch Patriot but missed when Patriot jumped up and grabbed the ladder to a fire escape and kicked MVP in the face. All of a sudden the alley became covered in a cloud of steam.

"This is gonna be fun," MVP said as he got up.

Armory shot an energy blast at Vision but he dodged it. "That's an interesting weapon. If we weren't fighting I'd ask to examine it," Vision said as he looked over Armory.

"Guess you're out of luck then," Armory replied as she shot another blast at Vision that missed.

"No. I said I would ask if we weren't fighting, since we are I didn't," Vision explained. "The Tactigon. Interesting. Unknown alien technology that seems to adapt depending on its enemy. Let's see how well it fares against 31st technology." Vision sent an energy blast at the Tactigon that caused it to start sparking.

"AHH!" Armory screamed. The Tactigon started to change form rapidly before blasting several shots randomly into the air that missed Vision completely. Vision took the opportunity to land on the ground and punch Armory several times before the Tactigon managed to restabilize itself.

Armory shot Vision but he phased himself through and thrusted his arm through Armory and then the Tactigon causing Armory to shout in pain. The Tactigon started to spark and this time Vision screamed and was sent flying, resolidified. Vision got up and sent a fire blast at Armory. She sent a wave of water at it which created a cloud of steam that spread through the street.

"You're being a bitch Cassie!" Hawkeye yelled as she shot an arrow at her former teammate.

"Because I'm following the law?" Stature asked as she dodged the arrow by shrinking slightly.

"Because you think stabbing your friends in the back is completely fine, that's why!" Hawkeye punched Cassie in the face.

"You guys just have to register and-"

"And then we work for S.H.I.E.L.D. as costumed cops. Thanks but no thanks," Hawkeye sent another punch at Stature but she caught it and kneed Hawkeye in the stomach. Hawkeye stumbled back and Stature took the opportunity to grow to about 10 feet. Hawkeye lept out of the way as Stature attempted to pick her up.

Hawkeye shot three arrows at Stature who tried blocking them by raising her arm where one hit her in forearm, another scraped the edged of her ear. The street became engulfed in a cloud of steam suddenly as Stature shrunk to her normal size. "Good luck hitting me with an arrow now, Kate!" Stature called. "You're good but you're not tha- ARGGHH!" Hawkeye snuck up behind Stature and grabbed her by the hair.

"Did you really think these sunglasses were just for show?" Hawkeye asked. "Guess your Initiative training didn't pay off."

"Okay Spiders, we're trained for this. Attack plan beta," the lead Scarlet Spider instructed. The 3 spiders fanned out in unison heading for X-23, Hulkling, and Wiccan.

X-23 and Wiccan dodged out of the way while Hulkling stood his ground and was punched in the face by a Scarlet Spider but countered it by grabbing him by the face and slamming him to the ground. X-23 ducked a kick then kicked the second Spider in the back against a wall. Wiccan shot a lightning bolt at the third to stop the webline that was shot at him.

X-23 got close to her Scarlet Spider and started slashing at him while he narrowly managed to avoid being cut. "Whoever you are, you really shouldn't pretend you have Spider-Man's powers," X commented.

The Scarlet Spider punched X in the face but was cut in the arm in the process. He kicked her in the stomach and shot some webbing at her but missed when she grabbed and twisted his arm before he shot the web.

"Come on, if you're going to use one of Aracnor's moves at least be subtle about it," X said as she punched him in the face. Scarlet Spider countered this by attacking X with 4 mechanical spider legs from his back. X was cut by two of them and jumped back away from the Scarlet Spider who now was shooting webbing at her. X wove through lines of webbing and revealed the claws in her feet as she lept at the Scarlet Spider and cut off 2 of his mechanical legs with her foot claws.

Wiccan shot several lightning bolts at his Scarlet Spider but he managed to dodge every one of them. Wiccan raised a force field as the Spider prepared to attack him with his mechanical legs. "Crap," Wiccan muttered when he saw another Scarlet Spider coming at him.

To his great surprise however the Scarlet Spider hit his partner instead. "Thought you could use a hand," Hulkling transformed back into himself.

"Did I ever tell you you're the best boyfriend ever?" Wiccan asked. "Let's finish this up." The street became covered in a cloud of steam making it impossible for them to see where their enemies were. "Great," Hulkling muttered.

X-23 used the cloud to her advantage and snuck up on a Scarlet Spider before stabbing him in the leg with her claws and punching him in the face. "It's a real shame you don't have spider senses, those would've been really helpful around now," X said before kicking him into the side of a building.

*Meanwhile on a nearby rooftop...* "Great. How'd that happen?" I asked rhetoriclly.

"Guess we'll have to go down there and look for them ourselves..." Pixie said.

"Yeah, I guess. Wait... the steam's starting to clear, give it a few seconds," I pointed out.

We didn't need to wait long though because a bolt of lightning struck the ground and cleared the steam as Thor Girl materialized. Both teams of Young Avengers stopped fighting and looked I looked at Pixie who grabbed my arm and teleported us in front of our team of Young Avengers.

"Play time's over, you're all under arrest," Thor Girl stated.

"I've got a better idea, let's play a new game," I suggested. "Hide and seek." With that Pixie teleported us away before any of Stature's Young Avengers had a chance to move.

"Did you guys seriously go and pick a fight with them?" I asked as we appeared back in the safehouse.

"Well yeah, we started the fight I guess but we didn't actually go out looking for Cassie's team," Eli explained.

I sighed with relief, "I was actually worried for a sec that I was gonna have to read you the riot act. Same thing happened to me... kinda. Some of the X-Men ambushed me and Molly. Pixie saved us then we dropped Molly off here," I motioned to the room where Molly was watching tv, "And then we came and got you guys."

"Looks like we owe Pixie one," Kate said.

"It's not a problem but if you insist I kinda need a new place to stay. I left the X-Men when some of them started working with S.H.I.E.L.D. We're supposed to be staying out of this but clearly that isn't happening so I left," Megan(Pixie) told us.

"Well the Runaways are clearing out so there should be room, plus I'm going with them for a few days with Miu," I told her.

"No way! You get to go to LA again?" Tommy complained.

"Yeah, only so I can actually spend a few days with my girlfriend uninterrupted. I saw her like 5 times all summer," I pointed out.

"Good point," Tommy agreed.

"Try not getting arrested while I'm gone."


End file.
